Monday, July 27, 2015

I Am a Crack House Photographer

How many people can claim that?




In the past I have written about the need to get a part-time job to fill my time and give my life some balance, but finding one that is fragrance and chemical free is very close to impossible. Most want you to deal with the public in some capacity. Then I came across an ad for "real estate photography". All you needed was a computer, camera, and car. Real estate experience is a plus and I figure since I own my very own money pit, I qualify. They pay a meager amount and you take the allotted number of photos of the property they request. They don't tell you why the photographs need to be taken. I got the impression I shouldn't ask.

One of the requirements of the job is speed. I was told I shouldn't spend more than a minute at any house. Drive up, snap, snap, snap, snap, snap, snap, snap, and leave. More recently I was told I shouldn't even get out of my vehicle especially if I'm out in the country, on a dead-end road, and I hear vicious, barking dogs getting closer in an non-lollygagging fashion. I was really happy to find that out. What they didn't tell me is people don't like it when you photograph their house OR their neighbor's house. If there is anything going on that might be questionable or illegal, they assume that is why you are there!  I hope I can drive faster than a speeding bullet!

So far I've been safe. No stink to smell in the privacy of my van. Some of the neighbors glare at me with arms folded and I had one rush toward me demanding to know if he could help me. Obviously he wasn't interested in helping me. I responded with a smile, cheerfully exclaimed, "No thank you!" as I jumped back in my van and tore off down the road. Almost all assignments are for exteriors. I prefer the interior shots since that means no one is living in the house, but they are time consuming as I'm required to photo a minimum of 20 snaps of the interior and then more of the exterior. I still prefer it to risking my life.

The things I do for excitement. Heck, the things I do for fragrance-free money!

Monday, July 20, 2015

Paleo Hummingbird Feeders

I've tried to create a hummingbird environment in my garden by planting flowers they love. I refuse to feed hummingbirds bleached and processed sugar, but that is the wide-spread recommendation. It can't be good. So many health food followers have had the overwhelming desire to be less toxic to wildlife and the inclination is to use water-diluted honey. Unfortunately honey and other more natural sugars can produce bacteria and fungus which would sicken or kill the sweet hummers.

This idea is outstanding! I can't believe I never thought of it before.

ORANGES!

 
Hummers love fruit juices from over-ripened fruit which is their diet in the wild when they are vacationing in the tropics for the winter.
 
I was told to take a piece of wood, nail a long nail through it and then place the half orange through the stick. OK, but then I couldn't figure out where to put it. Close to the ground or on a porch or ledge and the bugs and rodents might want a tasty treat. Then I noticed the bamboo sticks I have in my garden! I used a little plastic lid, drilled a tight hole that would fit over the bamboo resting it on one of the bamboo joints so it doesn't get pushed all the way down to the ground. Drill a hole through the orange and place it over the bamboo over the lid. It looks like a bright yet bizarre little flower. I think I'll add a bunch of them.

 
I have a little hummer who lives in my garden. I see him all the time and he buzzes me often. Sometimes if I'm real quiet and hang out by the nasturtiums he'll fly over, hover in midair demanding to know what I'm doing in his flower patch. I haven't seen him sample the orange yet. I hope he likes it.
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Thursday, July 16, 2015

Here Today...Gone Tomorrow

The joy of gardening is the constant change. In my pre-gardening days, someone told me a garden never stops evolving. Just when you think you have it right, it's time to dig it all up again, find creative ways to present, and adopt new plant friends to add to your personal paradise. I remember thinking, That sounds like a lot of unnecessary work! It is, but I have discovered it's getting my hands in the dirt that motivates me. I suppose some gardeners would rather lounge around and look at the finished product, but I prefer the work.

I find my garden is like a big puzzle with various pieces to be moved around and played like a game: plants, rocks, bricks, cement pieces, pots, chairs, gravel. With Hashimoto's sometimes I don't have the energy or strength to do anything which is how Fern Gully came to be since I was too tired to fight the fern take over. Other times I feel a compulsive need to annihilate whole sections. I have found with this foot-leg pain, gardening helps. Sitting or standing still makes the pain worse. So gardening it is!

I'm in need of more space so I decided to remove Fern Gully. The fern jungle was good and fun, and now it's over. I know, I'm a little perplexed why I was in love with my ferns not too long ago and now I'm digging them up and throwing them in the compost pile which, by the way, is getting much too large. I think I might need to hire someone to take the compost pile away...

Scary...it's taller than me and spreading like the Blob!
Some of this inspiration is coming from my traveling squash vines. My BABIES! The pumpkins are using the pallet trellis and climbing. I even put a ladder behind the pallet and they are heading UP:




The Delicata are on the move, too, but heading down the walkway, and blocking it. They need room to expand to keep them off the walkway.


Hello Fern Gully that was:

View from squash...

Good-bye Fern Gully that isn't:


The squash are at the far end.
Another Fern Gully that was:



The Fern Gully that isn't...


Maybe I just have a desire to show off my newly re-stained fence. It sure would have been easier to stain had those ferns been moved first, but inspiration isn't always conveniently scheduled. It comes when it comes.

View from the opposite end
I have an urge for bright orange calendula so that's what I'll try to plant even though it's already the middle of summer. That should really brighten the place up. I did keep the deer fern because I like it so much (the photo at the very top).
 
 
HAPPY SUMMER!


Saturday, July 11, 2015

Garage Sale Day!

The estate sale company in my area was having an estate sale, but not only that, because the weather was going to be hot and summery everyone was having garage and yard sales! I made it a Garage Sale Day.  I shouldn't have started. It's not like I need more junk [to sell in my next garage sale], but I found some great stuff.

My neighbors across the street had a sale and unfortunately, she was selling her whole set of Harry Potter. Do I need Harry Potter books? No. I tried to sell the two I had in my last garage sale and came really close to donating them to charity. At one point I walked away, then checked to see which books I had, went back and bought the two that were in the best shape for a dollar. I just need three more for a set.

I went to the estate sale because the photos showed terracotta pots.



I love terracotta pots. Not sure why. Maybe because they match the bricks I use to line some of my garden beds? Maybe because they match my new re-stained fence (see a tiny section of the fence in the above photo). I do like that they breathe and tend to regulate water better than other types of pots. I bought two big ones and one square one. One of the pots came with this little dragonfly ornament. I love it.

 
The best find was a raincoat!! If you've read some of my earlier posts on shopping, finding a good raincoat that doesn't stink of chemicals and isn't made in China is nearly impossible. New ones cost up to $200- $300 for a good, quality brand that is waterproof, but they need to be washed at least twenty times before they are wearable.  I'm also looking for one with a hood. It would be also nice if it was my size and as used, in really good shape. I know how difficult this search is because I've been looking at both new and used coats for about eight years now. My current raincoat is about fifteen years old, the lining is ripped, the zipper doesn't work, and it's just not waterproof anymore. I hit the jackpot!  It's a Land's End brand with hood, working zipper, pockets, drawstrings, Gortex, and YELLOW.... BRIGHT yellow.

 
I'm guessing it's in such good shape because someone got it for Christmas, likes yellow as much as I do (NOT!) and never wore it. It's not a bad yellow, it just clashes with my skin tone and hair. I think when I get old and my hair turns white, it'll work fine. It'll look great with black which is my favorite clothing color. It is also made in China, but since I bought it used I think I can overlook that. It is also made with polyester a fabric I detest. And Gortex, but that helps it to be waterproof.  My old raincoat is also part polyester and it was a great coat. Aside from all that, it's an outstanding coat! I can't wait to try it out in the rain and see if it works. It's my SUNSHINE COAT!

I LOVE GARAGE SALES!

My Current Doctor is a Drug Fiend, For Sure

  
My feet feel like they have no padding and I am walking on sharp rocks. At times the pain radiates all the way up to my back. It's a little scary. I'm nearly positive it's a Hashimoto's symptom or is somehow related to the fact my thyroid issues have gone untreated for the past ten years. Time to jump back into the experiment, but I know I don't want to go back to the nurse who knew nothing and looked at me like a deer caught in headlights.

I went searching yet again for a new doctor, one that might know something or at least one that might know a little more than I do and who is fragrance-free. This doctor has huge boldfaced notices on the front page of her website demanding everyone is fragrance-free. I had hope. Minimum requirement is they must know fragrances are poison.

Unfortunately, this one is crazy. She's moody and flies back and forth between between rage and stupor with occasional little girl regressions. The first appointment she began reading aloud my list of symptoms from my intake form and she kept exclaiming dramatically, "OOOOOHHH!" "OH MY!" "OH NO!" It was a bit unnerving and stressful until I realized she was not being serious nor sarcastic, just insane, then it was almost comical.

At the end of her reading she looked at me with wide eyes, excitement bursting from every pore, and pondered aloud, "What could this possibly be?" Looking at the second page she exclaims as if she's just discovered the cure for cancer, "Well, there it is! Hashimoto's!" She looks at me with surprise and delight like I just handed her the keys to her brand new, free Mazerati. I looked back at her with disbelief. If I ever get cancer I don't want her to be the one to tell me.

She talked a mile a minute but it was like self-babble. She didn't ask me questions but continued to rely on the intake form. Several times she made assumptions so I'd correct her, she'd glare at me, dramatically shuffle through the pages and asked, "Where is that? I don't see that information. It's not on here." If I didn't write it down, it didn't exist.

Heaven help the person who interrupts her or tries to ask a question. Every time I would try to talk she would stop, turn her head to glare at me, listen to my question, smile like she's forcing it, and say, "You are jumping ahead." I failed to realize she has a secret plan, a method of madness that involves step by step procedures. After she said that a second time I said, "Well, the appointment is only so long and I guess I'm afraid we'll run out of time before we get anywhere." She looked at me, smiled sweetly like she's being filmed, and said, "Then you can schedule and pay for another appointment." Whoa!

When she asked me if I take probiotics and I began to explain. She interrupted me and without looking up or at me screamed, "DO YOU TAKE PROBIOTICS, YES OR NO?" I think she was confusing me with a step-child.

The second appointment was for the lab results. I was NOT looking forward to this but I was hoping she'd have some answers. Any answers. Maybe I was thinking she might know something because she has a life-sized cardboard cutout of herself displayed in the office? Why would that give me hope? It certainly didn't give me courage. She seemed a little less high strung and almost catatonic on this visit, but she didn't disappoint with the animated dramatics.

When I told her for the fifth time I don't tolerate drugs well which was the purpose for one whole set of tests, she used her little girl voice to tell me I needed to have a test done to see if I have some kind of blockage in my throat that prevents me from swallowing effectively. Who said anything about swallowing? Does she not read the intake forms she requires we fill out with every appointment? She's not listening to me. She has no idea who I am or why I'm there, but she's still talking to me like I'm a kindergartener.

She wrote me a thyroid prescription anyway. She writes a new and different prescription at every appointment!

When I told her for the sixth time I don't tolerate drugs well and went into great detail about the side effects I get that could or could not be associated with the additives and fillers in the pill she said in an incredibly condescending tone, "Well, you are going to need to learn to read labels. I realize it will be really, really difficult with that tiny print so you'll need to wear your glasses and read the label very, very slowly. Maybe you can find someone to help you." Does she think I'm five years old or ninety years old? Who doesn't read labels?

When I asked her about the two thyroid antibody tests she ordered as I was wondering what the difference was between them, she looked at me with impatience, reached over and wrote on MY note paper in big, bold letters H-A-S-H-I-M-O-T-O-S and added, "It's a thyroid disease that was discovered by a Japanese physician." Excuse me?????? Did she not read on my intake form I've had Hashimoto's for the last fifteen years? Or maybe she thinks I don't know how to spell? I know these tests are for Hashimoto's. I tried to clarify I needed more information and she just smiled at me like her brain was not programmed for that question.

And her most memorable response was when I asked her about my issues with the previous thyroid drug and all its horrible side-effects, I wanted to know if it could have anything to do with an inability to convert T4 to T3. She looked at me with a really scary smile and said, "OH! That's a very complex theory." That was it.

So far I have spent about $300 in office visits and $400 in lab costs and she hasn't answered any of my questions nor addressed any of my symptoms. My feet still hurt and now I find out my kidneys are damaged and my butt is bleeding.

I think she's dipping into the drug sample drawer...

I admit when she makes these stupid comments I tend to mimic her body language: widen my eyes, nod at her, and raise my eyebrows with dramatic effect like I'm amazed and surprised. It's all I can do not to burst out laughing and a few times I have. I wonder if she knows I'm being sarcastic?

I need to keep searching for a new doctor. I'm not sure which is worse: stupid or crazy, but I'm so tired of the incompetence. These are people who are AMA board-approved to give health advice. It's scary. There should be a law against this....



Sunday, July 5, 2015

Summer Project #1: Fence Rejuvenation

The thing I love about summer is I always feel motivated to get things done. During the winter I can't imagine construction, let alone digging up whole garden beds, or re-roofing my shed, but summer arrives and I am motivated. I try to take advantage of the motivation while it's here because normally it's short-lived.

The last couple weeks I've been re-staining my fence. The last time this was done was ten years ago when I first bought the house. I've been dreading it, but the fence is on its last legs, nearly disintegrating in places, falling over in other places, boards are wiggly and there are about ten screws on each board where I have attempted reattach them over and over again. Unfortunately some of the support boards are rotten. I just need it to hang on as long as possible since it'll take a lot of money to replace...money I'd rather spend on something else. Like a new house.
 
I've been dreading this for many reasons.  First, the stain is stinky and toxic. I wear a mask and thankfully, it doesn't seem to make me ill, but I can smell the stain for weeks until it's properly cured. Yuck.

Second, it's a lot of work. More work than nearly anything else I might want to do, so I put it off. It involves cleaning the fence first with a broom and then with water sprayed from a hose on "jet". Some spots are mossy or mildew and that involves washing it down with 30 Seconds which is a bleach compound that cleans things in 30 seconds! It's a miracle cleaner, but highly toxic, and smelly.

Third, it's just messy. The stain gets all over the plants. I have to wear gloves, work clothes, and a mask.

Fourth, it can only be done in dry weather so standing out in the heat of the sun is anything but comfortable.

Fifth, this stain is expensive and it will take at least 7 cans to do most of the fence.

I was going to put it off one more year then for some reason I felt this impulsive urge to jump right in. This stain is gorgeous. It goes on a light orange color and then ten minutes later it's a dark copper. It really rejuvenates the wood, too. Four cans later the front and side parts are done. I may need to wait to do the backyard fence.

Before Photo...sun bleached nearly white.
See the difference?



 

Old fence made to look kind of new! Love it!