Corona Free or Corona Dormancy?

 After nearly 3 years of Corona and it's variants running rampant around Europe and the rest of the world, being under quarantine and house arrest so to speak for months, it is really hard to believe the exhilarating feeling one has from feeling like perhaps we have reached some level of freeness, but at the same time I am still wearing masks in public spaces indoors although I seem to be frankly one of the few that is.  We are starting to see the crunch from Putin's war, as sunflower oil and flour are becoming rare to find in the shops, and fuel prices have escalated to the point of unbelievable prices, but in my world, spring and her wonders came early this year and gardening has begun, so whether corona again overtakes us, or leaves us, at least I have an early start to the grow season and have sunshine and warmth, and those two things make me a happy person.  Blessings from above, the bees working their magic on my rosemary, and the cabbage moths were flying blinding about searching for unsuspecting targets, their white butterfly appearance is really a cover for what they do to cabbage and cabbage family plants, but I still like to see them fluttering around.  I have not seen the dragon flies yet, but I am sure soon they will be darting around at high speeds.  Spring for me is a metamorphosis simply like the butterfly I come out of the winter fog of depression from having no sunshine to an eager to take flight person that can't wait to dig in the dirt and watch seeds come to life, plants put on new colors and blossoms that come in varied shades from different plants.  I am even happy to see the sunny yellow faces of the dandelions as they spring into action, their beauty which feeds a multitude with their blossoms and makes horrible rocky ground become a nice planting spot if one can uproot them from their habitat to actually plant something else.  So corona free or not, spring has come and for me, that makes my world ok.

Blessed be.

 

Blessed With Warm Weather in 2022

 AN EARLY SPRING 2022

I am ready to put tomato plants and bell peppers in my greenhouse in the ground.  They have been outside at home on the table for a couple of weeks now and have outgrown their pots to the point of getting root bound, so I am sure they will be happy to have their feet in the ground so they can spread out.  

I spent yesterday replanting a one foot cutting from my gooseberry plant that was broken last year and I put in soil and rooted (well he did all the work, I just stuck him in the ground and watered).  I hope he will like his new home, he liked where he was rooted, but it's in a corner where there is no room for him to grow into a large plant, so I moved him with my blueberry bushes.  They still look scrawny, so I think I need to invest in a couple of new plants and put those two inside until they recover from their lazy streak or whatever it is they are doing or not doing.  

That's actually the gist of this post, when something isn't doing well, sometimes it is just best to take him up and put him in some fresh gardening soil in a pot and tuck away and let it recover, I don't think the variety I have is conducive to the harsh winters here and I can't be certain it is the species that I purchased, because let's face it, mix ups can happen with planting sticks at nursery's, so sometimes we do all we can to make plants happy and it just doesn't seem to help, sometimes they need to recover like humans, a little time resting and rehabilitation.  Plant rehabilitation can be as simple as that, a pot and good soil and rest, other times we may need to treat an infested or diseased plant, and the same methods can be used, treat and in a pot and rest.  

My other issue is my Russian peach tree does not like the wet climate here, it is used to the sunnier temps that were in it's region, as well as the cold in the winter months, and I have plucked his poor leaves off and I am going to treat him tomorrow to a good dose of epsom salt water via his roots and a spray of waters of peroxide to kill any fungus.  I hope that perhaps that will help rid him of whatever fungal issues he may have and stop the leaves from turning into clubbed leaves.  There were no signs of aphids, and hopefully they don't attack him now that I removed so many of his leaves, fingers crossed.

I have planted one bed with green beans and yellow beans and a row of pole beans, scarlet runners and a blackish purple hull sort, I like the scarlet runners in soup dried, but honestly I grow them for the pretty flowers and because they attract pollinators (shhh that's an insider secret).  

At home my front tiny garden has yellow and orange calendula blooming and bell flowers hanging that are pink and purple varieties, and I have a few plants in my containers, I still want that cottage feel, but the entire front is paving stones and gravel, so my plants are growing in gravel or in between the pavers, not ideal, but it works, and I actually think the plants are stronger than those growing in my regular garden because their roots are wrapped around stones and buried deep in what dirt they manage to reach.  

I feel so blessed that spring was a month earlier, having a warm April is a God sent gift from above, and one I am thankful for.  Long winters and the cold are not my "cup of tea", and my body really doesn't do well with those, so sunshine and warmth are always welcomed by me.

I wish all of you a happy gardening season this year.

Type 1 Diabetes Insulin Pumps

 TYPE 1 Diabetes

One of the worst illnesses and diseases one can have.  
I would love to hear from people on how they manage theirs, and if they use an insulin pump.

2022 THE GARDENING HAS BEGUN

 GARDENING NEWS 2022

Today is Good Friday.  Efoundaster is this Sunday, and I was busy in my garden this week.  Yesterday I managed to clean the areas under the strawberry containers and cleaned alot of weeds and leaf debris away.  It was a good start, but I have alot left to do to get everything ready and planted.  I did feel happy when I went and found that planting the mustard seeds in the fall had alleviated most of the weeds.  That was a welcome reprieve, and I now wish I had planted in both gardens, but the other one isn't so bad, it will take a few days of pulling and digging out small weeds and cleaning in between the garden tiled walkpads to get it into shape, but nothing like last year.  So lesson learned, start early in the fall cleaning out beds and planting mustard seeds or covering with black perforated film, I did that in one large bed, and while it's more expensive than mustard seed, it is less work than pulling out all of the mustard plants, or digging them under.  I wanted them for green compost because previously I shared a garden with someone and they put mostly browns in the compost box, so it hasn't really composted much since last year, so I am hoping the mixing of all the mustard vines and leaves with kick start it.  

I have tomato and bell pepper plants at home growing to put in the garden, it's easier than having to go check everyday on them and it was too cold to start them before last week.  

I'm hoping for a hot and dry summer.  OH and I forgot to mention, my strawberries are already getting blooms and my apple tree is in full bloom, but my peachtree from Russia is sick :( . 

It's only in the low 50s here today, so I am pressure washing my garden tiles - a very nasty but necessary job :( 

News Update & A SunFlower Revolution

 Here in Europe the war between Ukraine and Russia has severely compromised food items, at this point mainly cooking oil, sunflowers, flour products.  

I'm afraid it is going to be very serious for both Europe and the US if this war escalates and more sanctions are put into place.  The fuel is certainly an issue as the prices are creating severe issues for Netherlanders and Germans, and I am sure the rest of Europe will soon be looking for alternative fuel sources.  The Netherlands produces alot of their fuel through wind turbines, as you see across Europe, but many homes here have solar panels, but they do not produce enough with the lack of sunlight to cover the winter months, and of course without sunlight the production is not as great.  

Between the corona virus which affected us for more than two years already, we now have these new struggles, and with the deficit of what corona causes to businesses, this war will have a major impact on many businesses throughout the world. 

Everyone has been so focused on building technology, the food production for the world has been forgotten, farmers have decreased on an exceptionally large scale, with farms being bought up by foreign entitites and taken over for housing and business use.  What the planners forgot, was that everyone has to eat, and also that we need to manufacture our own medicines and necessary basic items that convert food into cooking oil and other necessary products.  International trade for so many products that are a necessity is both dangerous and quite foolish.  We open ourselves up to depend and rely on other countries for the bulk of many items, and that is most definitely a scenario for failure, but our planners have not made arrangements for the what IF scenario.  

I am afraid we are on the brink of needing Victory Garden's like were grown in older times in America, food rationing and gasoline rationing were common during that time, and it appears that the cycle will again repeat itself, but the problem is, the lack of space to grow and the knowledge.  There is also the issue of seeds and preparation.  Many are ill equipped to attempt such an endeavor, and many will try and fail and seeds that could have been utilized to make good crops will be lost.  

Imagine what could happen if every family planted 20 sunflowers that survived, and those 20 were taken to a refinery to be utilized to produce sunflower oil, sunflowers can be grown easily without a great deal of experience of work, but the seeds must be covered with protective mesh fabric to keep birds from eating them.  

So, let's start a sunflower revolution.  Join Me?

The ABC's of Gardening

 THE ALPHABET OF GARDENING

G -- Grow it Like You Want to Eat it.  Grow what YOU like to eat, grow pretty varieties that will encourage youngsters and non vegetable lovers to want to try.  
Suggestions:  Kale - Kale seeds can be purchased in pretty colors, orange, red, yellow...  These plants are extremely pretty and the taste is the same.  Carrots are another vegetable that come in many different sizes and colors, you can grow tiny round or short carrots, winter or summer carrots that are normal, they all have a great taste and add something special to your dishes, color.
Suggestions:  Kale - Kale seeds can be purchased in pretty colors, orange, red, yellow...  These plants are extremely pretty and the taste is the same.  Carrots are another vegetable that come in many different sizes and colors, you can grow tiny round or short carrots, winter or summer carrots that are normal, they all have a great taste and add something special to your dishes, color.  

A - Add flowers to your garden, edible ones, i.e., 

• Hibiscus (Non Ornamental) can also be eaten. 
• Lavender - While known for it's amazing scent, it is also edible and makes an amazing taste difference in pastry items such as cupcakes and other baked goods. 
• Pansy. ...  Known for it's massive growth in hanging baskets, and over winter blooms, this flower is a show stopper on top of cakes and baked goods. 
• Roses - beautiful in many colors and types, and the rose hips make great rose oil for the skin. 
• Sage Flower - Sage while normally used for medicinal purposes and in meat and bread dishes, the flower has a somewhat different taste flavor, and is especially good on and in breads.  
• Dandelions aka Weed Flower - These have a honey taste and make great tea and the greens are also edible. 
• Honey Suckle - If you haven't eaten honeysuckles on a warm evening when the sun has left them a bit warm, and their fragrance fills the air, then you have missed out on a childhood experience.  
• Nasturtium - Available in several colors, is probably my favorite flower to use with baked goods, when sugared and placed on cakes, it is the ultimate cake topper.  
  
  There are other flowers that are edible, these are the ones I am most familiar with.  Before you eat flowers, please make sure they have not been sprayed with insecticides, grow your own organically. 

R - Rich soil with compost and natural fertilizers is one of the key items to growing beautiful vegetables and fruits. 

D - Do make sure you try to grow things as organically as possible, plant cover crops to control weeds, and do a bit of maintenance every week so that your garden does not become a massive time stealer when it gets out of control.  You won't miss 15 minutes a day, but an entire day of weeding and cleaning isn't ideal when you let it go. 

E - Even gardens need TLC, fertilizer, water, good nutritious soil, compost, etc.  Evaluate your soil, your vegetables, like us, prefer certain optimal conditions to grow and live, too dry isn't great, too wet is really bad, not enough fertilizer or compost, ... evaluate and figure out what type of soil you have, sandy, clay, silty, etc.  Then you can amend it to provide your plants their ultimate growth environment.  Know your plants, lettuce likes cooler temperatures and bolts when it's too warm, spinach also, so if you want to grow in the summer you will need shade barriers in hot temps to keep the temp low enough so bolting does not occur.  

N - Never say I can't grow xxxx.  If you find the correct medium, the correct temp, the correct watering schedule and have the correct weather you can.  

I -- IMAGINE -- Imagine what you would like to have your garden look like.  Are you more interested in vegetables and fruits than flowers, or more interested in flowers?  You can do both, companion planting with flowers is easily done as long as you plant items together that need the same type of elements.  

N - Natural Gardening - Using plants and weeds to provide food for bees, birds, and other creatures that need them for survival.  Put a water source for small animals such as bees and birds, it doesn't have to be a pond, it can be a saucer with fresh water that is changed daily, or a pretty container turned into a bird bath.  While some birds can be a nuisance, remember that many of them eat the worms that eat our cabbages, lettuce, etc.  

G - Garden Journal - A garden journal gives you a chance to write down what you are growing, which variety, when you planted, etc., it can also help you grow items better when you see what grows well in your environment.  

What are you GARDENING highlights that you would list alphabetically? 

Cognitive and Effective Learning While on Lockdown from Corona - A Parent's Guide

Homework For CHILDREN IN LOCK DOWN
 (and parents) 

Informal Learning With a Twist

These are activities designed to help your child grown by focusing on items that will engage them and in a patterned learning program, will enhance their abilities to make associations.  We need children to associate various items with normal things while engaging their brain to creatively apply these items in other areas.  I call this patterned learning.  In that sense I am not focusing on repetition so much as the uniqueness of how one helps a child receive information that is delivered.  In order to channel your child's thinking processing into productive and more expedient ways of learning, we can begin to provide them an edge that will create successful learning within parameters that they can successfully meet.  I focus a lot on creativity and language.  These two items set forth fundamental building blocks that ensure your child's future success.  With these simple guides, I have attempted to create from items that you will have at home, even if you are not a home schooling mom or dad.  

It is my hope that you will utilize these as a way to engage your child in creative and patterned learning. 

Today's work includes the following:

For Kinder Care -  Hand prints - Draw the child's hand by placing on paper and tracing around with a pencil or pen.  Ask the child what color their hands are and ask them to pick the color closest from the crayon's you put on the table.  Hold each crayon up and state the color.  Pick the crayons up again one by one and repeat the color and how it is spelled.  Today focus on white  - w h i t e -  w ... water, where, when, why, wing, whistle, write, wish.  Write the focus items on a board or paper, ask the child to write or draw these (age appropriate use here); Let them associate w with why do I need to wash my hands?  Where do I want to go.  What has water?  When do I wash my hands?  What do I use to do this assignment with?  HANDS and hands write, draw, paint, etc.   Make a wish - ....  Use your imagination here.  
At the end of this session, you should have the following:  A paper for each child that has their hands drawn on the paper, the words WHITE, Water, Where, When, Why, Wing, Whistle, Write, Wish.  
Place this paper in their pocket folder, we will further expand on this tomorrow. 

Remember, if your child is getting antsy, and not focusing, ask a question, ask them to raise their hand when they know the answer.  

Note that we are going to use the above also for the lower class program.  Instead of you drawing their hand around their hand, let the student do that themselves.  

For first and second grades - let's focus on their numbers.  
On a second piece of paper have them draw the following:

1 A    1 B  1 C 
A B C  
add the numbers 123
ABC                                        1 2 3 
Have them fill in the alphabet
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 
12345679 10 

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Now their paper should look like the above example 

Point out the letters A B C -  Apple starts with ? A  America starts with A  Animal Starts with A, etc. 

A- apple, America; animal
B - bug, banana, biscuit
C - cat, color, cap

Have your child write the above, if you are working one on one, this is a good time to stand by your child and point out the different letters in the words.  

The next step is associating these items so that your child remembers. 
A - Apple, America; Animal  etc.  So simply say the word and ask what letter does it start it. 

The next step is actually associating the entire word with how it is actually spelled.  We will start with 
A little girl named Anna ate an apple, then went to school in American and took her stuffed animal. 
Point out the words with the letter A.
Write the words Apple 5 times, America and Animal 5 times. 

So now your paper should look like this. 

 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 

12345679 10 

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z    1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

A- apple, America; animal
B - bug, banana, biscuit
C - cat, color, cap

A                                          B                                                     C 

apple  America animal     bug banana biscuit                         cat color cap
apple America animal      bug banana biscuit                        cat color cap 

apple  America animal     bug banana biscuit                         cat color cap
apple America animal      bug banana biscuit                        cat color cap 

apple  America animal     bug banana biscuit                         cat color cap
apple America animal      bug banana biscuit                        cat color cap 

Note:  I prefer the words to be aligned in columns for patterned cognitive learning. 

The final item to this exercise is to come back to this later the same day or evening.  Please do not do this when a child is actively moving or hyper.  Attempt this when they are calm, perhaps while you are cooking dinner or immediately after eating. 

With the same paper that you have as shown above, have the child turn the paper over.  Give them a pencil and ask them to write A B C 123456890 

Then ask them to write Apple Bug Cat 
Ask them to draw an apple bug  Cat
Color the apple bug cat 
Let them be creative.  

The lesson for tomorrow you will repeat the above with a fresh piece of paper, except for the last part.  
Focus on the words America  Banana  Color 
Word association:  America has a flag with what colors?  Red White and Blue 
Draw the flag, (pull up an american flag or draw one correctly for them to draw from.  
Draw a banana, (take a banana that you have and let them draw around it); if you do not have one, draw or pull up a colored banana (YELLOW).  
Draw a cap - that sits on the head, give them a cap that comes off of a soda or water bottle, let them draw around it.  The cap may prove a bit difficult for them, so make sure you use a line drawing and help where necessary.  
Color all of these items appropriately. 

Here's the additional items you will need everyday for quite sometime.  
A set of A-Z flash cards.  Either make yourself with index cards or print out and attach to cardboard (optional buy).  

The same with numbers 1-25 and in increments of 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 
Please try to make all of these with the same size and font for both letters and numbers.  
They need to be visible and at least the size of a set of index cards. 

Everyday at different times of the day, use these cards to create word associations.  You can: use tv time is a great time to pick a commercial and ask them to choose the correct letter with whatever product is being offered.  You can give them the cards and ask them to pick letters and put on items in a room.  
Table, Bench, coffee, tea, cola, dog, cat, hat, cap, cape, coat, clock, kitchen, living room, dining room, counter, window, watch, chair, floor, animal, dog, cat, etc.  This is a great activity to motivate and create associations.  So here's where your part comes in, ... D Dog ... also put the A for animal if they do not do that.  T table, associate with Table TOP .... hat ... head   Cap .. color   Cat  Color of cat  watch  color of band  watch  hands ....  

Every day add one of the following to the same game.  
1)  Sound that the chosen object makes  Watch tick tock   Dog woof woof  bark  Cat  Meow  

2)  What color of that item is normal and what color do you not normally see?
3)  How many of that item in the entire house?
4)  Put several forks and spoons in different areas of the house for the student to find.  Give them 3 minutes to find all, but give them 5 letters that they have to put in the room where they found the forks and spoons.  The letter has to match an item - C  Couch  Cat   Christmas Tree  etc. 
5)  Using the same spoons, add some wooden spoons or other cutlery that is non hazardous, place them all on the table or counter.  Have your child count the number of items and write on their daily paper. 
6)  Note:  They should already everyday write the alphabet on their daily paper and the numbers from at least 1-10  then add more each day. 
7)  Start focusing on the vocabulary list that I have provided, have them write at least five of those words every day and draw one of the items from those 5.  Provide crayons or pencils to do this with. 
8)  We are going to incorporate an art project, and note that you can use cardboard instead of a painting canvas if you choose.  You can also reuse the canvas by painting over with white paint and allowing to dry for reuse. 

Art work the first project -