Hopefully a successful start to a world of wonderful tomatoes

February 1, I “started” some tomato and pepper seeds to germinate… And immediately began wondering what was the most successful way I could bring these plants productivity. That lead me to adapt a design from a fellow Tomatovillian and this is how my version of Raybo’s EarthTainers came to be. I apologized to him because my ‘tainers have a common ancestry (plastic “tote”) and self-watering container concept. Anyway, here are some pictures of the insides of my “BobbiTainer” as Ray christened them – shortly before I gashed my finger with a box cutter ;0)

BobbiTainerCarcass

The inner portion of the lid was cut out, then cut down to sit down inside to make the “water table/planting medium support tray”, and holes were drilled to allow drainage. Most of my 10 ‘tainers have cut-down 1 quart Dannon yogurt containers for the wicking basket – but this one has a scrap piece of the perforated drain pipe my cohort in building decided would be a great support… then we decided to cut longer pieces and lay them horizontally.

The wicking basket is held in place with zip-ties, and the water fill-tube is just standing in the corner, through a hole cut with a hole saw.

TainerWFillTube

Anyway, I have all the components of the planting medium and plan to get it mixed, and the ‘tainers loaded this morning, giving the water time to drain some before transplanting my tomatoes and pepper plants later today. And hopefully, when I come home from work tomorrow, I’ll see happy plants growing in my “BobbiTainer Farm” ;0}

My garden area/container 'farm'

A Wonderful Autumn Give-Away!

Ginger Doggie had her stitches out on Monday, and is pretty much back to her full-time job of being a doggie…which gave me a chance to do some blog-surfing this morning, and I ran across THIS wonderful give-away.

Red Rooster's Pumpkins & Spice Fabrics by Whimsicals

 

Brenda, from Pumpkin Patch Primitives Quilting, is having a Halloween giveaway of a whole FQ bundle of these oh-so-scrumptious fabrics. So hop on over and check it out.  They are just too perfect!

Thanks, Brenda, for having such a wonderful give-away!!!

Ginger Update – MAST Cell Cancer, Stage 2

Thanks for the positive thoughts and the prayers. I don’t really know what
Stage 2 means – except that the disease is not limited to the single
tumor, as we’d hoped. But Ginger is much too good of a friend to put her through
anything more than Dr Pat suggested when Walt told her that we can’t
afford to take her to a canine oncologist because it is very doubtful that they
would suggest any course of therapy with which we could agree. What kind
of life would Ginger have, should we agree to any kind of radiation
treatment?

It’s been hard enough trying to keep her quiet while the wound heals where
they removed the tumor – and she can’t understand that is for her own
good, and that we’re only keeping her quiet this week so that she can run like a
crazy dog next? I know that none of us have any promise of tomorrow, so
why should we expect more in relation to our funny fur-baby? We shall enjoy
her while God lets us, and while she enjoys life – be that weeks or years –
and with a diagnosis of Stage 2, it could be anywhere in that range.

We will be treating her with Benadryl 50 mg twice a day – Dr Pat says that
this will minimize the effects of the histamine that the MAST cells will
continue to produce, and hopefully keep them from going crazy and
producing another tumor. We will ask about Prednisone, as that was listed as a
common treatment in the information I read. Other than that, we will let Ginger
be Ginger, and thank God for each day we get to enjoy her.

I Wish I Could Kiss It, and Make It Better

It’s been pretty tense around Casa BentNeedle lately. You see, we have an energetic, funny, crazy, wrap your heart around her little paw Boxer named Ginger. In the 4+ years that it’s been our pleasure to be her non-furry parents, this little gal has become oh…so very much more than a pet. She has given us reasons to stay on a schedule (try missing those 9pm treats, or sleeping in on Saturday mornings, and she is going to get YOU back on schedule, if it kills you!)… She has given us more laughs and hugs than I ever imagined when I saw this picture on a pet adoption site:

Adoption Picture

 

In short, she is our funny, short, furry 4 legged “baby girl” – and like “normal parents” we were concerned when she came bounding back onto the front porch one day this summer with more insect bites; but, since Ginger always has been an infamous target of stinging insects, we didn’t give it too much thought.  When the  bites shrank, we were thankful. When one came back, we were puzzled. Poor Ginger – pitiful luck to get stung in the same exact place over and over.  But Boxers being Boxers, and bumps being bumps, we didn’t give it too much thought, until it kept coming back then shrinking, then came back and started getting bigger. Being good “parents,” her “dad”  made an appointment with the only vet we’ve ever taken her to, and we didn’t give it too much thought. Boxers get bumps – Ginger really is a boxer, NOT a human.

Imagine our horror when Dr Pat told him of MAST Cell Cancer. How could something that looks like this:

MAST Cell tumor

bring our world crashing down around us? Ginger was scheduled for sugery a week later, and is doing relatively well… At least as well as a Boxer can do in a world where she can’t lick the owie…and can’t run and jump and climb and be a crazy dog, as she is so wont to do. This is what her haunch looks like now:

Poor Ginger!!!!

 

Now we are faced with a waiting game. Hoping and praying that the pathology reports come back on Tuesday as Stage 1 or 2.  That our Catholic friends were correct, that having this diagnosed during the feast week of the patron saint of animals was a beneficial thing. That Rabbi Segal’s prayer, that Ginger’s doctor would have hands guided by G_D, and that this little doggie will live to be a happy old doggie, will be answered. All the people of whatever faith that have met Ginger seem to love her, as she seems to have endless love for the humans in her world. May all their prayers be answered.

The primary reason for this post is to warn you – if your dog has a bump that looks like a bug bite, but it seems to go away then come back, RUN – don’t walk – to your vet. MAST cell cancer in dogs is much more successfully treated the earlier it is diagnosed. Dr Pat’s face told us that she would have much rather that we’d brought Ginger in when it still looked like a mosquito bite, but is hopeful that she was able to excise the evil tumor and enough surrounding tissue that it won’t come back, ever again, and so are we.

And if you have a little doggie sized spot on your prayer list, please put in a word that Ginger’s pathology report comes back good. Like any parents, we just want to “make it all better” – but it’s really hard to make her understand right now why we seem bent on ruining her day, by calling her down when all she wants is a really good run on a brisk autumn day – a lovely autumn day which makes me hopeful that I’ll be getting Boxer kisses and hugs for many more autumns to come.

Some People Leave Footprints on Your Heart

 

 

 

 

Liz Vining 12/22/1959 - 8/18/2009

 

 

Today has been a day for reflection.  My prayers are with her family. My heart hurts, but knows that Liz is not suffering – rather, she is resting in God’s loving embrace.  And I believe that I will have to celebrate our shared birthday for both of us each year, just before Christmas. 

Then I remembered this poem, which I found as a newspaper clipping, tucked away in my mother’s wallet, after she was gone… And thought this was an appropriate place to save it.

 

 

To Those I Love

 If I should ever leave you whom I love

To go along the Silent Way,

grieve not,

Nor speak of me with tears,

but laugh and talk

Of me as if I were beside you there.

(I’d come  – I’d come,

could I but find a way!

But would not tears and grief

be barriers?)

And when you hear a song

or see a bird

I loved, please do not let

the thought of me

Be sad…For I am

loving you just as

I always have…

you were so good to me!

There are so many things

I wanted still

To do – so many things

to say to you…

Remember that I

did not fear…It was

Just leaving you

That was so hard to face…

We cannot see Beyond…

But this I know:

I loved you so – ‘twas heaven

Here with you!

– Isla Paschal Richardson

Good night, my friend. We’ll see you in the sunrise!