Comment

Comment by karen gerwig on June 15, 2009 at 6:10pm

Ach, Julie, I am sorry to hear about the cancer..... We have had our own health battles and hospitals and doctors offices are nice for short sittings to read a good magazine, but I have no further desire to frequent any of them... I will pray for you lady.

What you have done with your beds is amazing. I love your re-use ideas -- I love garage sales, and free is even better. Your veggie garden is most impressive - I will try to post my husband's pics soon. He grew up in a grocery store that did a lot of truck farming on a lot of acres so it is difficult for him to understand planting in small beds. He still spaces like he has 12 acres to plant with pumpkins.....

When was your last frost?

Comment by Alice Tengler on June 3, 2009 at 8:19am

Julie we sound more and more alike. I had breast cancer 10 years ago. I went through 2 operations with chemo and radiation then just the chemo pills for 2 years. Through it all..my gardening gave me the serenity that I needed. It was funny.. I bought these wierd looking bricks and knew exactly how to lay them into the pattern I wanted then went into chemo and completely forgot how. No one else could figure it out either. I ended up doing an exchange with a neighbor for river stones. Never did get that part of my brain back but I still appreciate a soft fragrance in a gentle wind. Sounds like you have the spirit as I did.. I know you'll be fine.

Comment by Erin R. Cline on May 28, 2009 at 9:29am

Well, Julie, I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers that you will beat this cancer. Do the doctors say it curable or that you can beat it? I don't know if you have heard of a vinegar called, Bragg Raw Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar, but in the book there is a person that has beat some type of cancer (maybe prostate, I think). I highly suggest you try it as well as the other items in the Bragg line...here is the link to their website http://bragg.com/index.html at least take a look around at the website. Let me know what you think. I am a user of the Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar, Liquid Aminos (which can be used in place of regular soy sauce), and the sample of the sprinkle seasoning.

Comment by Lanier Hollingsworth Z8 TX on May 25, 2009 at 6:56pm

Julie,
I was just reading your comment to me about the wisterias. It's funny the types of things we get sentimental about.
I also saw that you have a type of blood cancer. I was wondering what type and what type of chemo you were taking. I've had B-cell lymphoma (Non Hodgkins) since 2001 and have had CVP chemo and Rituxan ... the last was in April. If you ever want to talk about all this, let me know ... and if not, that's okay too.
I found some small plastic pots that are 1/4 of a circle on sale today and think I'm going to put them in a painted tomato cage for my mints ... so it will be portable. I have so much mint, there will still probably be plenty to mow.
And so how is that new rocking stool working out? It really looks cool ... much better than my too short plastic stool!
Hope you've had a good gardening day today!

Comment by Alice Tengler on May 18, 2009 at 9:21am

You sound so much like my life! My husband who is retired just went through a bout with a flu and he has lung problems so everytime he get's sick I get scared. We have limited funds so I have to use my brain and brauns to do most of the gardening myself. He'll mow the lawn but that is as far as he will go. (it's a rider) I built my last compost bin out of wood that I've scrounged up and with my back being out the last few days I need to start thinking of raised gardening. I have a few pieces of large pallet wood that my neighbor gave me. Not the best shape though so I don't know how long they would last. It's better then trying to bend down anymore. Even if I go on my knees or sit it's just too hard for me anymore. I'm trying to plant more trees to cut down on the work I do around the yard. My evergreens have suffered but I called the MSU extension office and they said it was due to a fungus or mold. The woman I talked to said that she tried to save her old evergreen to no avail. What you did was right. You need to cut those branches and burn them. I have to do that but I have about 5 to do and it seems overwhelming to me right now. Also she told me to clean up all the debris (needles) that have collected underneath and get rid of them. I have them in containers but they are too wet to burn right now. The mold or fungus are in the fallen needles. It would be nice to share ideas as all the great gardening people here. This is one of the best places I have found here on the net. I hope we can be gardening friends!

Comment by Adele Michelsen z6/7 LI, NY on May 13, 2009 at 10:12pm

Julie, I just spent over an hour trying to find your page. I remembered writing to you last night, and then I couldn't remember you name to look you up again. LOL
I was thinking of you all day today... I asked my husband to see if he could get me some pallets from his job, and on my way home, my neighbor up the street was throwing out a bunch of scrap wood as well as a BUNCH of closet doors that had already been cut in half. I had my husband bring his drill / screw-gun home from work and I built myself 3 large raised garden boxes. Two of them measure 3' x 8', and the 3rd measures 4' x 6'. PLEASE come check out what you inspired me to build! I can't wait to go get some compost and mulch from our town center (there's also pictures of that).
Thank you so much! If it weren't for you sharing your idea about the pallets, I wouldn't have even thought about using the closet doors. I think I'm even more excited about the idea that I recycled the wood, instead of it ending up on the land-fill. Oh, and I also started a compost can. My husband, the city-boy, keeps teasing me... He won't be teasing this summer when he's eating nothing but veggies. (-=

Comment by Adele Michelsen z6/7 LI, NY on May 13, 2009 at 12:29am

Wow, thanks for being so open and honest about your health situation. That's really a wonderful idea about using the pallets to build your beds. Our finances are really tight right now, my "significant other" was out of work for a month with pneumonia, and just when he went back I ended up out of work because of my back. I'm going to have to start hunting down some used pallets (-=

A friend of mine had suggested "green smoothies" to me to help with some of my back issues. I did some reading on it, and it was really interesting. I'm looking into growing some of the greens they suggested. They said that with the fruit added into them, you hardly taste the "greens". I can't really explain all the health benefits, but it's really worth taking a look at for the antioxidants. I'm going to TRY to start doing more of this to get healthier.

Here's a site that had TONS of recipes. I would check with your Doctors before drinking too many of them.
http://www.bloggingonhealth.com/106/