(DF) BACK TO THE CORPORATE GRIND

After a couple of months holding down the couch, and a couple more in physical therapy, the doctors finally released me to return to work.  Saturday morning, I showed up at the large corporate retail store where I have been working, ready to start my first day back at work.  It took a little time, but they did manage to decide where they wanted me working for the time being, though I still don't have an actual schedule.

With my leave of absence properly applied for and approved, my employer was required to hold my position for up to twelve weeks.  Unfortunately, I was off much longer than twelve weeks.  My position has, as is standard procedure, been opened and filled, leaving me with a job at the company, but not the SAME job.  What this means in the real world of the vast here and now is simple.  I am working again, but at a lower wage, at least until I can transfer back into a higher level position.

Four months off work, especially in the summer, could have been a wonderful and productive event here on Dave's farm, had I been able to work during that time.  As it turned out, very little work was accomplished here on the farm (at least until the past couple of weeks).  At this point, I am back at the corporate grind at a lower pay scale, which leaves little time (especially with the shorter days of fall and winter) or money to make progress on the farm.

At the end of the day, I must honestly say that I am truly grateful to be physically able to work again.  The situation could have ended much less favorably.  My time off work has been quite an ordeal, but it is now time to start moving forward again, working to pay the bills and building toward mine and Anna's self sufficient life together, a life eventually free from the need for a paycheck from the  corporate world.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY - - Hot Stuff!

From Our Garden

TIGHTWAD TUESDAY - - !mpromptu Picnic

Yes, I know, this is just a little late, but I am really trying to get caught back up on here, so I am going to post it anyway.

A couple of weeks ago, Dave and I were out and about town running errands. As always, we ended up running around much longer than we had anticipated and had not packed a lunch. We just don't have the funds right now to eat out, and, to be honest, we just don't care much for eating out. It kinda scares us.

It was an  unusually beautiful Fall day and we were right around the corner from our local park. We were at the grocery store getting a few groceries and really needed to get back home, but the thought of taking a little extra time to enjoy ourselves at the park for a bit was just too big of a temptation.

We chose some of our groceries accordingly so that we could make a picnic dinner out of them. We decided on Roast Beef roll-ups.  Here is what all we came up with. It looks like a lot, but it really isn't, as we had quite a bit left to eat on well into the week.

The bag of apples was (I think) about $2.59. The veggie chips were $1. They didn't make it to the end of the day, lol. Mayo packets. a nickel each (we only needed 3). Whole wheat tortillas - 10 in the package was $1. The lettuce was 78 cents for a 3-pack of Romaine. A jar of sandwich pickles was just over a $1. And that bag of snack mix candy (our dessert that day and snack two more times) was 75 cents. The most expensive part was the deli roast beef at around $3. We both had water with us to drink, so we didn't need to get drinks.

If you add up just what we used at our meal, it was far less than the price of what it would have cost for just one of us to have eaten at a restaurant! And we knew what we were
eating (for the most part).

The weather was absolutely perfect!  We couldn't have asked for a better day for our impromptu picnic. And some relaxed, kick back time like this, together, was long overdue!

We made roll-up sandwiches, and I do believe they were much better than any burger we could have gotten in the area. Course, everything does seem to taste much better when you are eating outside on such a beautiful day!

 We saved so much money, and this great, spur-of-the-moment outing will brightly stick in our memories far longer (forever) than any quick run to a burger joint. Even if one is financially strapped,  it certainly should never stop anyone from having some enjoyable, carefree time together. And it doesn't take a lot of creativity, just a little thought.

The view from our table was serene and gorgeous, too! You certainly don't get a dining view like that from any restaurant (fast food nor fancy) around here! We were so glad we weren't able to go "grab a bite" at some restaurant on this beautiful day! We would have really missed out on a very memorable and enjoyable outing, and some much needed quality time together.  We can hardly wait to make some time to do it again!

THE VIEW FROM OUR PICNIC TABLE

(D♥A) WE Dodged the Frost Again! :)

It's Fall and it feels it! We adore Fall and its breath of fresh, crisp air! After the heat of summer, any garden that survived (and that usually isn't much) puts out the best quality produce of the season. All the veggies seem to be bigger, much nicer looking, and definitely much better flavored. Don't get me wrong, all of the veggies all through the summer were great, but those fall veggies just can't be beat!

And then there is the beautiful, rich color of Fall! Not only do the trees begin to turn their mix of gorgeous Autumn colors, but the 'weeds' do as well. Kinda makes it worth not getting rid of all of them. Actually, it makes it a lot worth it! I'm not sure what it is, but one of those weeds turns such a deep crimson that I have to take time from my day and just stand there for a spell and admire its beauty.  We really should do things like that more often, you know.

I think we will both agree, one of our favorite gifts from Fall is the abundant variety of apples and pears! There are just so many of them and they are all so delicious we want to try all of them. We can hardly wait until we have a big crop of pears and apples of our own. We have planted a few times, with many set backs. Last summers drought and extreme heat pretty much wiped out all that we had going. We look so forward to starting our new Orchard together next Spring! They won't be ready for next Fall, but they will be before we know it. And maybe by us growing them together this time, it will somehow bring better growth to the trees.

But Old Man Winter keeps trying to sneak in and kiss our much loved Fall away! We have had several nights now, down near freezing, and two of the nights in particular just barely missed by a degree or two! That was just too close! We still have some garden left growing that we are just not ready to give up, yet! We have most (not all) of what we are eating harvested, but we still have our "seed" veggies growing. I finally got most of the seed squash picked, but the Okra, Tomatoes and some Peppers aren't near ready, yet. And we really want those seeds for next year's garden! Having to re-buy what we can grow ourselves just really, really hurts! So we are really hoping for a couple more good weeks above the freezing mark.

One veggie, though, that is just now beginning to ripen and desperately needs a couple more weeks before harvesting is our Tabasco peppers. I don't know about Dave, but these are the best, and most beautiful Tabasco peppers I have EVER grown!!! I never knew Pepper plants could get that tall, nor have that wide of a span! It is really taller than it looks in this pic because it kind of blends into the Fig Tree. If you look on the right side of the pic, you can see that the one 'branch' of the pepper plant is as tall as my eyes! And are they ever loaded!!! We have about 6 of these plants and they are all this loaded.

Please ignore my grubby look and focus on the pepper. I had been out working in the yard all day.

It will look like a Christmas Pepper when they all get ripe!

That tallest pepper limb comes all the way up to Dave's shoulder!

Yep, we are going to enjoy LOTS of homemade hot pepper sauce in our beans this winter! We can hardly wait!

PHARMACY FRIDAY - Spearmint to Calm Nerve Pain

  As many of you know, I live with a lot of pain. I honestly can't remember the last, completely pain free day I have had, not for as far back as I can possibly think, and the areas of pain just seem to keep popping up in new places, nearly taking over my entire body at times.

My newest pain is actually a burning, seemingly brought on with changes in weather, especially cold and rain. Usually it is in my legs and feet, but sometimes it also creeps into my back and arms. Sometimes, it feels like I am literally on fire, just below my skin level. And let me tell you, this is far more difficult to deal with than basic joint pain!

Adding Cayenne pepper to my foods and drinks seems to help quite a bit, but I have been looking for something additional (natural of course) for even more relief. I have done some extensive researching over the past few weeks and what I came up with was Spearmint - oil or tea! I think I have some Spearmint tea tucked away in the back of my cabinet. Time to get it out and try it. We have a great arsenal of essential oils, but regretfully, we do not have this one. We will be getting some just as soon as we can to try in a rub-on liniment because it looks so promising!

Spearmint is a 'Nervine'. A nervine is a substance that affects our nerves, either by stimulating them or by calming them. Spearmint is often used as a calming nervine, although, ironically, its aroma also is used to stimulate a tired mind.. Not only does it appear to calm our emotional nerves, but our physical nerves, as well. It has been reported that Spearmint is great to reduce swelling and pain of our nerves, both by ingestion and topical application.

You may be sitting there thinking, "Peppermint does nearly all of that, too." But in the case of using essential oils (or teas), Spearmint Essential Oil has far less menthol than peppermint, by comparison (Peppermint essential oil is high in menthol) and is much easier on sensitive skin and tummies.

Not to stray off of the topic too far, but for a little added info, Spearmint also is great to release urine retention. Urine retention can cause swelling, which in turn, causes pain. Plus, stored up urine can build up toxins in the body, which, again, causes more pain. Using Spearmint to rid the body of excess urine can also further reduce pain.

As I sit here and type this, my lower back, legs, feet, and upper arms are, once again, moderately burning as the threat of more storms and rain approaches. I do like being able to predict the weather, but I DON'T like all this pain! I will be hunting down my box of Spearmint tea and give it a try throughout this bad weather spell that is predicted to last for several days. I am holding on to strong hope that it will bring me great relief. I will let you know how it works. We welcome any additional info you might have on the subject! 

Here are a few great places to read additional info on the subject. As you will see, Spearmint also has many other terrific, feel better uses:
   WebMD
   Spearmint Capsules
   More Great Spearmint Info
   Reduces Nerve Swelling
   Spearmint Info