Not much around here is newsworthy these days but I wanted to check in.
We'll start with the finger. I am still not 100% convinced that it's gout but I guess time will tell. There is much less pain but there is still pain and swelling and still very sore. We're into the 4th week so I'm sure I don't have to tell you how ready I am for this finger to get back to a point where I can write, type, stitch, and lots of other things without pain. My biggest complaint is that I have lost so much strength in my right hand mainly because I can't grip anything. There are lots worse problems that I could have and I remind myself of that a million times a day so I am not complaining (or I'm trying not to complain) but . . I just want it to go away!
On the garden front . . this evening (Wednesday) after I got home from a day of stitching with Debbie, I pulled out the garlic. I think there's upwards of 150 bulbs of garlic. I would like to have left it in the ground another week or so. It's been weird. The top was dying and the bottom leaves were not dying. I've always pulled it when the bottom third or so leaves were brown but that wasn't happening this year. I think I'm going to find that it would have benefited from another week or so in the ground but if I don't get my okra planted, it's going to be too late to get as much okra as we need for the year. If I had to choose between better garlic or more okra, I vote for more okra so the garlic is out. The okra seeds are soaking and I will plant them tomorrow.
This evening I dug a few potatoes for tomorrow's dinner, picked four tomatoes and several yellow zucchini. I'm getting lots of peppers. My favorite peppers will probably always be the Giant Marconi but I'm loving snacking on the Bishop's Crown peppers when I'm out working in the garden.
I think I'm supposed to let them get red and they may be much hotter then but Vince and I have both been eating them while outside working.
I don't think it's going to be a good year for the tomatoes. It was so late when I was able to plant them and we're already having temps in the upper 90's and lows in the mid-70's. We are still having a fair amount of rain but I think those temps are not working in my favor with the tomatoes.
The best garden news is that we seem to have control of the squash bugs. I planted lots of mint and basil and fennel and dill - every strong smelling thing I could plant . . and wedged a squash or two in the middle of it all so almost every bed, tub and bucket had at least one squash plant in it. I also have marigolds and other plants that were said to deter insects. So far, I've found squash bug eggs on three leaves and killed two bugs. That's kind of a miracle but . . there's still a long way to go with the squash bug season. I've also been using lots of food grade D.E. out there and Vince came up with a possible solution which I'll talk about more once I know for sure how well it works.
On the stitching news, I am not getting much done. Out of the last 7 days, I've had two stitching days with Debbie and those are the only days I've stitched. Mostly it's because of the finger so I'm hoping very soon I can get back to stitching and have something to share.
My understanding of gout, not first hand but still seen with a very close relation, would suggest that you don’t have that. When my relative has a flare up they immediately go to the doctor and either get a Prednisone injection or a step down pack. Once that happens it goes away asap. This person has had a terrible time with this condition but that medication knocks it right out. I am told that gout is extremely painful. I hope you are not suffering too much. It sounds like whatever has caused your problem you are not letting it slow you down. Take care!
ReplyDelete-Sharon
The first gout meds I took . . "they say" usually start to relieve the pain within a couple of hours and it never did. They changed meds and the second one didn't make much difference either so . . we wait.
DeleteGout is a form of arthritis - everyone reacts differently.
ReplyDeleteYes, but even the last two doctors I've seen have been surprised that the gout meds have not made much difference.
DeleteWe had a nasty storm last night (gusty wind, lots of thunder & lightning and rain) and ended up with a tree between my front door and my car!! If it had gone two inches either way, either the house or the car would have been hit! Actually, both were hit, but with tiny branches that did no damage. One branch is in the facia above the front door, but that's it! God is watching out for us!!! We had an appointment to get that tree, along with several others, cut down, but the storm beat them to it. I also have three trees down, 2 in the yard and one along the driveway from a previous storm, so it looks almost like a logging area around here! :-) My grow bags with potatoes and radishes were hit by wood too, but only one container of radishes was destroyed, so we did pretty well there, all things considered. I think I'd take your "nothing happening" kind of day than this! :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry for the damages you did have but very glad the damages weren't worse and that there were no injuries.
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