A lot has been happening around the Inbetween Homestead. I have been barely keeping up with my regular chores and am also balancing all kind of doctor appointment, dentists, and having some pretty bad pain for the past couple of weeks.
See, I have some health problems. Technically, I probably shouldn't be lifting and pulling and bending like I do because of three herniated discs, one of which is pretty severe and may require surgery. That of course is just the latest find. So far, I have enough medical conditions to write a paper on, and we still haven't found out what is causing the insomnia, major weight fluctuations, (in the past two years I have been the biggest I have ever been, dropped almost a hundred pounds in about six months and am now climbing the scales again, all with out major changes to my diet that would warrant the changes).
Generally, this means that on a good day, I am in agony from about 10 minutes after getting out of bed, until noon or later. Getting the pain to stop requires antispasmodics and a lot of more holistic methods which change daily and making sure I get my mind on something other than the pain. Then I am nauseated until I take my med at night to eat and sleep. That is a good day with normal stressors. Add more stress and additional joy follows.
I am not sure I want to go much further than that on my physical health at this point, but suffice it to say, the last two weeks have been extremely hot and humid with no rain, which seems to affect my physical health too. Top it off with many life stressors, which probably aren't important to this blog other than the fact that it kept me from concentrating long enough to write up any blog posts.
Also, I am in the Graduate program for Archiving/Public History at UMass Boston. This last summer session was oodles of reading, plus a 20 plus page research project. Considering the cost of education, the paper came first. With the increasing brain fog, I honestly didn't have the time to do any other writing. Heck, this one isn't up to my normal standards as it is.
Regardless! I have done a bunch of little projects, which includes putting some of my fine produce up in small batches. My garden is not overly large right now due to money constraints. My soil is contaminated with lead, and while I can use the soil for planting a few things, I have had to invest in raised beds and new soil, in order to grow many of the other things I need. Also, my back yard seems to have a large area that is all rocks and rubble underneath the first six or eight inches of otherwise lovely soil. I suspect that is the reason my yard hasn't flooded in so many of the tropical storms and other hazards of living near the coast.
So far I have canned small batches of: Victorian BBQ, Kosher Dill Spears, Pickled Beets, Fig Preserves, and I have dried tomatoes, peas, lots of herbs, eggplant and peppers. I am working on the pictures that I took (when I remembered to take them) and will be posting some more entries soon. Also, pictures of the gardens and some editorials on things I have learned this season.
