Sunday Stroke Survival: Prepping the Harvest for Long Term Storage

I've posted about our homestead garden, gardening, and adaptive gardening quite a bit. I've even talked about preserving the harvest by canning, freezing, and dehydrating.  Today, I want to discuss how I prepare the harvest to do all of that living post stroke.

Picking the harvest is the easy part. Last week I harvested four pounds of oregano from my plants. That's a whole lot of oregano destined to be dehydrated. I lay each stem of the rinsed herb on a window screen. Add another window screen on top. I have raised them away from animals by placing the screens on top of four inverted trash cans. I'll let them dry out in the yard for a day or two. I mean I had four pounds. It was way too much for my two electric dehydrators. When one screen was full I grabbed another one and continued until all the oregano was accounted for. I criss- crossed the placement of the screens so there was good ventilation for the herbs. Now, I placed the herb stem and all on the screen. It took eight screens in all for four full screens of oregano.

Once dry, the real fun began. I had to remove the stems. I tend to leave my leaves whole and chop or grind them as needed. I sat at the breakfast room table with the table covered in parchment paper. I placed the thick end of the oregano stem between my teeth and pulled the leaves against their grain to remove them. After doing a few stems, I'd stop and gather the leaves and put them in several containers in succession. It took me the better part of the day to do this. Before I give the oregano a final "haircut" before the first freeze, I'll be doing this several times. This year I expect a six-eight pound harvest of oregano. Not to mention basil, sage, peppermint, spearmint, chamomile, tarragon, dill, thyme, rosemary, and thyme. For smaller batches, I can dehydrate them in my dehydrators.

Now, I've started harvesting my English peas. There is nothing better on hot afternoons than sitting on the porch swing shelling peas and beans, and watching the gardens grow. But, shelling peas one-handed took some thought on how to do it.

Luckily, Mother Nature put a zipper in them. I picked loose a string at the vine end of the pea pod. I picked it loose enough to be able to pinch it between my index finger and thumb to pull it. Holding it against the bowl with my little finger I pulled the string down as far as my reach would allow and reposition my little finger and continue until the "string" came loose off the end of the pea pod. Using my thumb, I ran down the inside of the pod dislodging the peas. I got quicker as time went on and the three pounds of peas I picked were done. They'll probably be another three pound harvest tomorrow again and again until the peas are done in about three weeks.

But that's not all that's being harvested. I've got to cut the kale, spinach, and lettuces before they bolt with

the heat. Carrots and potatoes will have to be dug up. I've got a discarded kiddie pool for washing the greens the first time outdoors before carrying them to the processing table. They'll get washed twice more at least to remove all the dirt from them.

For the carrots and potatoes, remember that glass washer I found at Goodwill way back when for $2? It works wonderfully for scrubbing long, rounded vegetables one-handed. It works great for my cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, peppers, and Japanese eggplants too. Thinking outside the box makes work smarter not harder. A mandolin and my Vidala Onion slap chopper always gets a huge workout at harvest time. They save so much time processing vegetables for the freezer or canner.

In the next couple weeks as the peas die out, they'll be green beans. I'm hoping for 120 lbs of them. I just pulled the last two jars of green beans out of the long term storage building canned two years ago. So I'm looking forward to these. The idea of going to the grocery store and buying green beans makes me cringe. By succession planting these over the course of the spring and summer, I should have plenty. I don't mind processing these at all. Snap the stem ends and snap them into pieces. I use my first three fingers to snap them. Of course, I could bring them inside to cut them too. But I miss my free ranging chicken TV viewing. They are much more fun to watch than regular television and n curse words needed.

There you go. That's my one-handed preparing vegetables for canning and freezing. Yes, it would be easier and faster with two hands, but I adapt to what I got. And, I get 'er done.

Nothing is impossible.

Stuff and More Stuff

Well, yesterday was Valentine's Day. My first without my beloved. I'm a little over half the year through my year of firsts since his death. My neighbor knowing this sent her her young son over to visit me. He told me that he felt bad for me being alone. Then he brought forward the arm he had behind his back. He had  a small bud vase with three, red silk roses in it and a small bag of chocolate truffles. Such as simple gesture from this little boy brought tears to my eyes as I thanked him. He hugged me back hard and said, "Don't be sad, Mrs. Jo."

I told him that they were happy tears. He turned and went home.

I really hadn't remembered that it was Valentine's Day. I've just been too sick. It's been a heck of a tough month for me and my body. First the episode of breathing difficulties, my heart acted up starting to throw me into congestive heart failure, and now a cold complete with a touchy stomach and the creeping crud. I'm feeling so miserable that unless I have to be somewhere, I stay in my pajamas and robe. Of course spending three days last week at my cardiologist's office on top of my dry needling sessions hasn't exactly left me bursting with energy. My body is just too run down. If it wasn't for my body dying in slow increments, I'd live forever.

I had a visit from my Air Force bound grandson Saturday night. He brought his girlfriend with him. I was the distraction while others prepared her sweet 16 surprise birthday party. If I had my choice of young ladies I'd choose for my oldest grandson...she'd be my pick. They compliment each other perfectly.

As I watch their young love blossom, I can't help but be thankful. Thankful for their mutual respect for each other. Thankful that love still exists and can be shared. And yes, thankful this grandson is taking this relationship slowly. He told me that he knew if he ever messed up with a girl that I'd be seriously disappointed in him so he can wait for the relationship to grow before taking it to the next level. "Grandma, you told me to respect women always and I plan to do just that." Now that statement not only made me thankful but very proud of him. I've always had a very open and honest relationship with my grands.

Every day that passes brings me closer to my moving date. I look around at this town that only had 15K people in it when I first moved here to the now 100K and moving away is bittersweet. But then again, I look forward to fulfilling a long sought after dream/goal. It's tough.

For my New Year's resolution I once again put down losing weight. Isn't that on everybody's list? It's just getting too hard to move this 180 lbs of bulk around. But feeling ill like I had been I really didn't feel like eating much anyhow. According to my cardiologist's scale, I've lost seven pounds this week. That's not counting the 15 lbs of fluid that I gained and lost in my CHF phase. I had made a huge pot of vegetable soup last weekend. It filled almost three, gallon zip lock bags. I just kept adding vegetables that I wanted to eat before I knew it, I had enough to feed an army. I was also trying to clean out my freezer too.

But then I got nostalgic for the Japanese foods I'd had growing up I knew my local Asian food store

Inarizushu

did not have the shaved bonito flakes and the inarizushi (fried bean curds pockets) I was craving. Shaved bonito is a staple of Japanese cooking. I had asked if my local store could order it, but was told that I would have to order them by the case to the tune of $300. That seemed a little expensive for a craving. I went on Amazon and found canned inarizushi for $14 a can of fourteen. The bonito flakes were just as high and I thought it was outrageous! I knew there had to be a better price out there. I hit the jackpot. Inarizushi for $3.50 and a full pound of bonito flakes for $10. I jumped on it buying several of each. I even found the dried green peas my #2 grandson LOVES. These are not the wasabi peas that can be found in most grocery stores, but roasted and dried green peas just rolled in sweet rice and soy flour. I added several 1/2 lb bags to the order. My total plus shipping was less than $50!

So what does this have to do with what I was talking about...cravings, diets, and nostalgia? I'm moving and was afraid that I wouldn't find these pleasure again. If a town the size of this one didn't carry them then I knew where I was moving to wouldn't. It was a panic move on my part. So took about a week to have it arrive at my doorstep. I immediately made a small pot of short grained rice. The fact that white rice is a no-no carb flew out the window as I devoured the first one in a couple bites and then savored the next four. Yes, I made a pig out of myself. But I also was saying good bye to a large part of my life too. I still have a gallon and a half of vegetable soup in my freezer to enjoy too.

I guess the point of this rambling blog is don't be afraid when venturing forth. When feeling peaky and just totally yuck, it's okay to cave, pamper, and spoil yourself. Life's too short to not live it to its fullest.

Thursday's Tumbles and Stumbles~ The Ongoing Saga...

The past couple weeks has been mild in comparison here at the Murphey Saga household. I kept waiting for the terrifying drop of the roller coaster that I knew was around the next bend. It didn't stop me from enjoy some semblance of normalcy by saga standards...barring my hubby dearest's bout with pneumonia and a slight return of his congestive heart failure. Yes, even these occurrences have been deemed slightly frantic after a year of dealing with with them.

Well the dip started Sunday with a choking episode on his part. It's a regular happening with me, due to my aphasia after my stroke, so it's hardly worth mentioning. That episode was followed by eight more over the rest of the day into the next. This was a sign of trouble and needed to be addressed.

Almost every meal became a quick dash of me to the assisted rescue. He has been on a finely chopped meat diet or soft diet for a several months. We have now entered the realm of semi-pureed foods. Nothing overly spicy or seasoned and ground to toddler food consistency.

Now we are not talking about a huge amounts of food in any one meal. I'm still measuring quantities in an eighth of a cup servings for him. Try as he might, he can't eat more than that at one sitting so we have gone to six meals a day trying to maintain as close to 3,000 to 6,000 calories a day. That's including chocolate. I am now making cake pops for him the other way, crumbled cake and frosting mixed together because he has to have a source of liquid to swallow it.

His weight loss has stopped for the time being. He now weighs 90 lbs. His hospice nurse and I feel that he has lost all the weight he can. Any more will be the loss of organ tissue weight. He gains and loses the same half a pound dependent of bowel movements and when the weight was taken, but his Spirit is good.

Now for me, I had a rough time in therapy this week. Ever since last week the muscles in my right (affected) arm has been on the verge of cramping. You know that feeling where you feel like if you move it, you'll get a Charlie Horse. Although when I moved it the arm never locked down into a cramp, but the feeling was there.


I knew my stretching by the therapist would either rectify the problem or cause it to totally cramp up. My next series of Botox isn't until mid March so it probably wasn't the Botox wearing off yet. Yes, it kicked back in after my kidney infection resolved.

I usually scheduled my massage therapy on one day  and my OT on the next to optimize both. As luck would have it, I broke a strap on my AFO over the weekend. My ankle was twisting inside my AFO just like it did in my old one. Monday and Tuesday, my local Hanger Clinic was closed. Wednesday I couldn't be seen until the afternoon. A pressure sore developed. ARGH! It wasn't to the point of rupture, but still very tender and swollen.

I hobbled into the office and while they were fixing my brace, the receptionist informed me that my new shoes were ready. Hot Dog! a twofer. I was beginning to feel the luck of the Irish was smiling at me. I waited to be squeezed in between other patients. The clock slowly ticked off an hour before she ushered me into an office. The shoes fit perfectly! God Bless Keith, my ortho guy. He's now retired and will be sorely missed.

I missed my massage therapy appointment, but rescheduled for after my OT session. It's kind of neat that my massage therapist and my OT talk to each other (with my permission) about my treatments. Now, keep in mind they are two separate practices. My OT will tell my massage therapist to work on certain trigger points after our session and vice versa. That's what I call, continuity in care and therapist going the extra mile for my sake.

The next day, I was really sore after two treatments in one day. In fact I was in PAIN!

While the arm moved fairly freely, the pain had me not moving it. After a shower (yes I finally got one), I looked in the mirror at my right side. I didn't really expect to see anything even though I had two bruises the size of a half dollar at my wrist. But there they were...bruises on other painful points. One about midway on my clavicle, another under my arm on the chest, and another at the cap of my shoulder. Now, I'm not sure who is to blame for this or if it's both of the therapists. I do know that it was not done intentionally, but never the less, I spent four miserable days until it eased up. It was days of reaching for my pain medicine, but deciding to grin and bear it.

So that was my week. How was yours?

Halloween Props and Preps

I love all holidays. I decorate to the max for each and every one of them. It's all about friends, family, and who and how you spend it.

Halloween is no exception. I've draped the cobwebs, hung spiders, made gauze ghosties, and placed gravestones, practiced my make-up techniques, and shredded clothing.

Shredded clothing? Yep, well not good clothes, but hand-me-downs. T-shirt ripped, rolled in dirt and splattered with "blood," and holey blue jeans. I've got ten bags of sweets for the kiddies coming to my door. Last year, I bought six and had to run to the store for more. The extra bags are M&M's because I need food for creative thoughts.

Some of you may remember I'm performing a zombie wedding on Halloween. The whole reception is a monster motif. It should be a cool thing although most people's first reaction is shock and disgust, but if that's what the couple wants who am I to judge. Remember I make it a point not to judge others. Anyhow, I've spent hours perfecting the zombie make-up for my role as the zombie minister. No not just for the wedding, but for zombie walks later on with my book signings.

You may have noticed a few food type questions I asked visiting authors during their interviews.  So now it's time for... "Hey Ma! What's for Supper?"

In my previous life, I was a chef so the menu for this year looks something like this...severed hands on a grassy grave served on a tombstone, scattered with roasted root vegetables dug from the graveyard, brains in a petri dish with blood gravy, and for dessert...eyeballs in slime. I love playing with food. Sounds absolutely yummy, doesn't it?

Just like with writing, life is all about perception. It is what you perceive to be true in your mind and making others believe it. You knew I had to put a writing plug in here somewhere.<g>

Okay, I'll interpret to make it more appetizing. I know your stomachs are rolling at the thought of the above. How does fried chicken breasts sliced to look like hands with salsa on a bed of shredded lettuce, root vegetables (carrots, onions, parsnips, and beets) doused with olive oil and fresh Rosemary roasted until tender, mashed potatoes with reddish brown gravy (I used to do a red-eye gravy but am allergic to pork now so switched), and lime jello with Lychee nuts, maraschino cherries and a mini chocolate chips sound? It's all in fun.

In past years I've done bat wings (Terriyaki turkey wings) laying on bed of trash (Asian coleslaw), put potato salad in my brain mold, made boo-biscuits and done a blood pudding, no not real blood (red food coloring in chocolate pudding with marshmallows as clots. I've converted Shepherd's Pie into a ghostly delight with bat droppings (green peas with black food coloring), autopsy salad (just a chopped vegetable salad with a thickened red wine vinaigrette, and decomposed fingers (sugar cookies decorated like fingers).

Have a safe and horror filled Halloween. Tomorrow ends the Angel Haze Halloween blog hop and I have J. D. Stroube stopping by so stay tuned.
As always...

Keep writing and loving the Lord.