Tomatoes

We have ripe strawberries in the garden.
The tomatoes are starting to turn red.
The cat has shed 438 lbs of fur.
My apples are covered in plastic bags (to thwart apple maggots).
Summer is definitely here.

We're living on fruit and the occasional vegetable
in an effort to reduce fatness.

But summer requires ice cream.

The battle begins.

All the news that's print to be fit

something's going on on the older sister side, but nobody's told us!
Houston is underwater but nobody's told us!
The last uncle, Uncle Pee Wee died, and the priest was really old and
funny accidentally, and we got weirded out by the vets bar at the reception afterwards, so we took the starving kids and nieces out too lunch at a normal restaurant,
and ogled each other and ate too much.

the boy and his wife are moving to Seattle. Pray for us, Argentina!!!!

NOthing

the msdwelf is recovering nicely.
the peas are peeing.
the tomatoes are peeing.
the exotic lettuces are peeing.
I have enclosed most of the apples in
newspaper plastic bags in an effort to
reduce apple maggot maggotism.

We shall see.
The black vampire tomatoes are blooming.
This is very exciting.
I'm not growing garlic, will chives be effective?

Potato experiment

The peach tree is very sad this year. It has a disease.
So I put some antiweed cloth down underneath it,
and heaved a bunch of dirt and peat moss on it,
and threw in some potatoes.
Tomorrow for the third time, I shall heap
more earthiness upon them.

Will they really grow potatoes this year?
Out there unrestrained by rows.
What is truly amazing is that the cat or
the racoons haven't dug into them.

But what happens if I end up with peachatoes?

Potatoes with a pit.

Burundi Quilting Project

David Niyonzima arrived from Burundi. Since Ms. Dwelf was splotchily in capacitated, I picked him up at the airport and drove his very tired person to his crash place at the Haydens.

Sunday night we had a fund raising dessert buffet to raise money so
Ms. Dwelf can return to Burundi and continue teaching abused women
a trade, quilting. $3000! raised.

Totally awesome. Now she needs to get some grants!

Everyone is very very very excited. It's stuff like this
that helps stabilize Africa.

She, Ms. Dwelf, has also raized $2000 to help build an
entire building and supplies for a community in
east Congo (still a dangerous place).


When she was there she asked how much. They said $2000
for an entire structure, school and extra rooms. plus
all the accoutrments.

I get all teary eyed thinking about it. $2000 is nothing to Americans.
It's easy to help the world, even if it's just money.
But someone has to organize it.

Saint Ms. Dwelf. hmmm, may have to work on that.

Fun with itches

Mrs. Dwelf started getting itchy spots and puffinesses.
"Aronia berries in the juice!" she cried.
But a google of aronia and allergies produced nothing,
in fact aronia is highly recommended for allergic reactive people.

So I google mangoes. Mangoes, many people are allergic.
Went to the doctor, got Benadryl and drink lots of fluids.
We removed the mangoes but
days passed. But not too many.


Itchy itchy and puffy eyes and lips (free collagen injections!).
Splotches.

Monday morning, she calls the consulting nurse who says,
"Get your splotchy ass in here."


She goes to see Dr. KATO! Now we're talking! KATO!

Patricia Kato. Ah, Ms. Dwelf is Patricia. Now we're really talking.

Time passes. I read my book. Finally I'm called in.

Dr. Kato is 1) a babe, 2) really good.
What's the cause? Don't know but could be the blood pressure med, so stop that immediately and check your pressure frequently. Come in if it goes over 150/90.


Prednisone, steroid, should see results in 5 hours.
Ratgutsadine, does something with histamines and acid reflux.
Pifflegooberosine, antihistamine.
AND an EpiPen, just in case.
The doc says, if the throat swelling was new in the last 24 hours, I'd be very concerned, but since it's been around for a few days, eh, not to worry.

But we'll send you home with the epipen just in case.


So at least I ran through the test procedure for using this!
Someone else did not!


Six hours later, her face is almost normal.
She's complaining about new splotches, obviously a newbie to allergies. Sweety, it takes a couple days to flush your system and let the new drugs acclimate.


Meanwhile the last of her uncles is on his death bed, all the sons have come to Tacoma. Uncle Peewee from Alabama is quite a character. He should have smoked less, but still he made it to a pretty good old age.

All the aunties are still alive.

Life goes on.

Waiting for the Bogeyman

In my yout' I was ascared of the dark.
All the cliche, closets (although I sometimes
sat in them for hours) were creepy at night.
Mirrors were very scary, especially at night.
Well, I grew out of most of that.

I thought I now knew what was real,
and what wasn't ephemeral ectoplasms sneaking
into to my shorts, crawling in my bed,
waiting round the corner.

Then I read the latest Frothing at the Mouse.

Brrrrrrrrrr, where's my night light???????