Wednesday, April 22, 2009

ears and plants

because of augustine's clogged ears, the volume in my house resembles what i think it would be like to live with a 90 year old. every word has to be ANNUNCIATED and LOUD or he is like ??? augustine is still battling his ear infection but he's on the mend. i've been keeping up with the mullein/garlic/olive oil drops in his ears and motrin or whatever to keep him comfortable. yesterday i took him to get an adjustment from my dad and he also got some ultrasonic diathermy therapy, which is sort of like ultrasound waves that generates heat deep in your tissues. it is THE BEST treatment for sinus problems i've ever encountered. i could go in with a sinus infection, which i am relatively prone to and come out clear or at least significantly on the mend. this involves laying flat and putting an apparatus on or near the affected part of the body and that's pretty much it. the waves just silently transmit into your body. this was auggie's first time getting it and he laid there sniffling a little saying "i am so brave! i can be so brave! but mommy don't leave me!" and that made me tear up. of course i wouldn't! but it's nice to be reassured of someone's steadfast presence all the same. heck even as an adult i enjoy that reassurance.



i went to oakland nursery today. im using earth day as an excuse i suppose. i find it sort of weird that im ambivalent about earth day by the way. i feel like "someone like me" should be excited or more supportive but im just sort of meh. im the sort that views every day as earth day i guess, no need to kick up a fuss about it all. anyways i bought two shepherds hooks and hanging baskets and im going to try my first hand at that sort of gardening this year. im doing (roma) tomatoes and strawberries. here at my apartment i would not put edibles into the ground. ive got a half barrel that has my herbs (mint/spearmint/basil), spinach, lettuce, carrots, and onions in it but besides that handful of things at my place i only deal in ornamentals. oh wait, i am adding another container for a sweet pepper plant. i'm also, as a nod to my mother and thus my introduction to gardening as a kid, growing sweet peas, which were a staple at my childhood home growing up the fence by the front walk. (thanks mom!) regarding the herbs, i must say i really enjoy that augustine loves mint and spearmint so much. we dont do a ton with it but it smells so wonderful and it's kind of nice to snap off a little sprig and carry it around infusing your pocket with it's aroma. augustine likes to collect it to add to our sun-warmed tea and often role plays with his kitchen set that he is making it how we do all summer long. i love that my kids get gardening with me. i think this year will be much more relaxed because olive is now 2 and old enough to not need the high level of attention that always divided my time at the communal garden. speaking of that, i bought 2 tomatoes, 3 sweet peppers, 3 banana peppers, (they didn't have their jalapeno's out yet), 9 broccoli, and i think 6 more strawberry plants. we have oh, 12? plants already but each plant only fruits for 3 years so it's smart to keep adding to the patch every year and then uproot the 3 year old plants as needed. can't wait until friday when i can see maggie & austin and put in the garden together!

also i went to the garden center to buy ingredients to make seed bombs. basically all i needed was powdered clay (the other ingredients being wildflower seeds, compost and a little water) the man looked at me like i had three heads when i asked for the clay. see, here in ohio the soil is predominantly clay so why in the world would they carry a soil amender like that? clearly there is no sandy soil around here! so i might have to go to a craft store. is soil-clay the same as like pottery-clay?

11 comments:

Gerbicks said...

we are talking very loud here in the gerbicks as well for addy's hearing loss situation...it's sorta funny, eh?

Rachael said...

"i am so brave! i can be so brave!" oh that would break my heart. What a sweetie he is!

I totally agree with the earth day everyday theme!

JoEllen said...

i wonder if someone in the Ag Dept at OSU could help you out with the powdered clay? shoot, they may even have some tips on making the seed bombs!

Judy said...

ha. our "soil" is clay on the side of the house if you are interested. We cannot grow anything over there. Also, I was wondering if you can just take regular top soil (that stuff is pretty hard if you do not add anything to it). I guess I dont know much about seed bombs. It is funny, my mom use to sprinkle wildflower seeds all over empty ditches when I was younger...who would have thought?

Olive said...

i think i will somehow acquire some clay soil (if you donate i will give you some seed bombs!) just from the ground like you said.


queen bee - wonderful idea!

Rachel said...

have you ever used ear candles? they look scary but work really well.

Olive said...

i havnt! i really should

Rachel said...

i worked at a health food store once and a lady who shopped there frequently told me she pulled the infection out of her sons ear using ear candles. she had to use about 3 over the course of a few days, but it worked! cheaper than a trip to the doctor if you don't have insurance.

mandi said...

i haven't taken my kids to get adjusted. i'm nervous for some strange reason...i wish i had a trusted source (like my dad!).

funny- i had the same attitude about earth day this year. i didn't even mention it to the kids (and you should see how we celebrated april fools day!). i kept thinking, 'shouldn't i be doing more?'. whatever...

and for my question- i planted strawberries for the first time this year and they did blah. should i keep them in? because it's prime real estate, baby!

Jamie said...

i feel the same way about valentine's day as you do earth day. why make a big fuss when you should show your love every day???

...just thought i'd share. :)

Olive said...

mandi - what was blah about them? just not producing a lot? first year strawberries need pinched back (remove the flowers) for about 6 weeks, then let em go. the best production i think it the second year