Taking down the tree

Our favorite doc is always talking about "Theory of Mind". It refers to the fact that an individual is incapable of seeing a point of view other than his own.

To me that implies that my son does not, cannot care about other people's feelings. That's hard for a mom to accept. I want my son to grow into a loving, caring young man. His handicap may not allow that to happen.

I felt it so strongly this Christmas season. I got some nasty bug and was sick for the two weeks surrounding Christmas. The day after Thanksgiving, we went to our favorite tree lot and chose a fresh tree. As a family, we narrowed it down to a few, but allowed Kyle to make the final decision.Kyle was happy to drag the tree to the checkout then returned to his book in the car. Then I watched as my dear husband meticulously tied it to the roof of the car.

We rearranged the living room at least three times trying to place the tree this year. Since last year, we acquired a very large TV, so finding a pleasant arrangement presented quite a challenge. It was cozy to say the least!

We did not decorate it right away, but got busy in the holiday fuss at our respective jobs. Then I got sick. By the time we decorated, it was getting pretty dried out.

But decorate we finally did. I'm not proud of how that came about. I was feeling sorry for myself since I was sick. Neither of my guys stepped forward and took care of the things that I usually did. So, when the tree did not get decorated, I accused them both of not caring.

With this of course, they both sprang into action. My hubby helped to locate all the trimmings and light the tree and my son helped me place the ornaments. On our tree, each item has a story. Some are items each of my three children have made. Some were gifts from my students or other special people. Some are antique glass ornaments that belonged to my grandmother, others were found at a yard sale and matched my grandma's. A couple represent milestones, such as a brass cut-out of the church we were married in. Only a few are store bought, just because I thought they were pretty.

So now, on my last day of vacation, I am taking them all down. Hubby is at work and Kyle is still asleep, so I can take each item off the tree, reminisce and tuck it safely away until next year. Kyle has promise to help right away next year. Does he really care? or is the prospect of not putting up a tree just not acceptable to him? I may never know. But doc has said that aspies "can" learn to overcome other aspects of their condition. I pray my son will learn see life through other people's eyes.

He is up now. So, we will see if I can get him to help me carry the tree outside willingly :)

Christmas "Nom - Noms"

Silly name, I know. But that is what my son calls exceptionally good food. It can be anything from a new dinner dish to a decadent dessert. So, to share our holiday food adventures, it seems a fitting title.

For Christmas Eve, I wanted something simple but special. Nutritious finger food without a lot of clean up. So, I made my very first "Wood Fired Pizza". I watched Alton Brown make one so I had to give it a try.

Now we try to stay with organic foods as much as possible, but to make this easy, I purchased a ball of dough from the bakery department. Not organic, but it does not contain the worst of the additives that we try to avoid. I also used some of the sauce from a jar of organic spaghetti sauce. Fresh organic bell peppers and mushrooms and all natural shredded mozzarella for the top and I was ready to go to the grill.

Yes, I did say grill. I don't own a fancy wood fire oven in my back yard. I do have an old charcoal grill and an endless supply of oak from our trees. I rolled out the dough, oiled the grill and used a cookie sheet as a peel. I cooked the dough on one side then turned it and added my toppings.

I did end up finishing it under the broiler of my oven. When I cooked the first side, I left the lid up so I could watch it cook. I closed it for the second side, but my fire had burned way down. Next time, I will close the lid both times for more even cooking.

Simple ingredients, but SO tasty with the flavor of the oak. The only other suggestion my guys made for next time was to buy 2 balls of dough :)

Christmas morning I made my Hawaiian Banana Bread. In a blender, puree 2 ripe bananas, 1 stick of butter and 2 eggs. In a large bowl, sift together 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Pour in the banana mixture from the blender and mix until just combined. You can bake these in muffins cups for about 12-15 minutes at 350 F, or grease and flour a bread pan and bake for about 25 minutes. Today's batch was plain, but it's also good with dark chocolate chips.

Since it was just the three of us, I kept dinner simple this year. I was disappointed at the selection of hams at the markets I shopped at. They were either glazed, spiral cut or both. I finally settled on a smoked, but uncured spiral cut ham. I followed the directions to heat it and made my own glaze from canned organic pineapple, cloves and local honey. I cooked it in a covered roasting pan, then uncovered it for the last 15 minutes. I made my own scalloped potatoes, steamed organic broccoli and reheated us each a roll we brought home from dinner out 2 nights back. Homemade chocolate cake and frosting brought our meal to a close.

Back to the kitchen for me. This is my bake day since we are having Christmas with more family this week. If you are reading my rants, allow me to close by wishing you and yours a

Very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year.

In His love,

Beth

Thanksgiving

Friday November 25, 2011

It’s annoying to get sick anytime, but really frustrating when you have a family to care for. Throw in a holiday and the stress can be overwhelming.

I knew it was coming. I had stopped taking my vitamin drink a week before because I realized it was out of date. Not by a little bit either. (Maybe that is why they were upsetting my stomach.) I vowed to ask my friend where she had purchased it, then, promptly forgot. Then I started feeling tired and blamed it on stress.

I ordered a turkey from a local farm. Then of course, I planned an elaborate brine for the bird and all the organic fixings. Oh yes! This is my moment to shine! We invited friends to share the feast and went to at least 3 different stores so that everything was just right. People don’t always understand Kyle’s diet, so this was a chance to share our lifestyle with some of our closest friends.

I’ve heard it said that if you don’t get your rest, God will cause you to rest. Well, I woke up Monday not feeling my best. By the end of the day I wasn’t much fun to be around. By Tuesday, I was in bed. I stayed home thinking I could rest and recover quickly. And I did, somewhat. By now our friends had made other plans and I was sad, but relieved.

So Wednesday night I started the brine. I forgot all I had learned about brining and brought this huge pot to a boil. Great! Now it has to cool before I can put my turkey in it. And, it’s already bedtime. So, I set it on a table outside. Then, after waiting a couple hours, I finally got brilliant and set the pot down in a sink full of ice water. Bingo! Cool to the touch in 30 minutes. I put the bird in and went to bed.

The next day I had to not only put on a brave face myself, but start taking care of Kyle’s cold too. He doesn’t get sick often. But many kids on the spectrum have sensory issues. The repeated sneezing and blowing of his nose made him a very young man. He can’t take cold medicine because of the food coloring and the dye free has other stuff in it. So in between tending to my feast I made tea and tried to distract him. I think he took 3 showers that day! Actually, the last was an herbal bath that seemed to do the most good.

So, dinner ended up being served about 7:30. The turkey was amazing! Next year I just need to leave the water out of the brine until the end, then make it mostly ice. The smashed potatoes were good, the dressing a bit undercooked. I ran out of ambition to make the rolls. I made an apple pie and a pumpkin  pie. They were really good, but the crusts were a bit tough. I totally forgot to make the broccoli until it was almost time to eat, LOL! Wow, who knew getting a cold could make me so brain dead?

I am sad we could not share this thanksgiving with others. I am very careful about our food. I have seen the effects of additives on our son and I know there are better ways. Local, fresh and organic whenever possible is the best way for all of us to eat. The turkey was not cheap, but it is a holiday after all.

I am thankful that all the herbs for my meal came out of my garden. We have natural food stores on our way to work and church. Even the grocery stores are offering more organic choices. My gardening skills are improving too. It’s getting easier all the time to get food that is safe and delicious.

I am thankful for my family, my cat that warms the foot of my bed and a home and garden to tend. We have so much abundance compared to others in the world. Even with a cold, I had a wonderful day, then was able to grab my blanket and herbs and a good book while my dear hubby cleaned up.

 Thank you Lord for my life!

1 Chronicles 16:34
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

A New Beginning

I need to write again.

I started this blog because I wanted to share my experiences with others. My hope was to reach out to other moms who have children with Asperger’s Syndrome and gardeners who are trying to live a more sustainable life. The two go together for me. The cleaner our diets are, the better it is for my son. When he has fresh, organic food, he is calmer and more focused. When we get busy and eat out, he is hyper and difficult for days. Even when I try to watch what he eats, some things get by me and he falls apart.

I decided to plant a garden and provide more of our food myself. I even had chickens for a while, but they turned out to be roosters, so they are now living it up at the local organic farm J

And I started to blog. I have never had a blog, so I am learning as I go. I tried to write a couple times a week. I followed the prompts and posted my entries. It was kind of fun for a while. It was neat to see when someone had read an entry, even if they did not leave a comment. But now the page tells me that no one is reading my last few pages.

Well, I stopped posting. I told myself I would still keep a journal, but would not post it to a blog. After a few weeks, my mom mentioned that I had not posted an entry in a while. I was surprised and explained to her that my page said they were not being read. Apparently, she has been reading them but my settings page is not seeing it. Maybe people need to join in order for the page to see them.  I’m not sure, but if there is a chance that people are reading them, then I will start to post again.

Life with my son is an emotional roller coaster. Every time I think we have a difficult situation worked out, something else crops up. Kyle will be 13 in a few weeks. He forgets things constantly. Any slight change in routine will derail him.

This weekend we had a yard sale with another family. If you have had a yard sale, you know how it can turn your world upside down. I tried to keep him on schedule. We ordered pizza. It was my hubby’s birthday, and we were trying to get some last minute things ready for the sale.

The next day, we were up at 5:00 am. I made banana bread and coffee while everyone set up for the sale. I did not volunteer at the stables, but made sure I had Kyle there in time for his lesson. When we came back home it was time to close the sale and figure out where to store the things that did not sell. We had a cookout afterwards with our friends. We don’t have a lot of company. People have a hard time understanding Kyle’s behavior. So it was a real treat to have friends over. They climbed trees, watched tv and swam in the pool. Later I built a fire in our fire bowl and we all relaxed and talked. It was good for Kyle. If he got tired or overwhelmed, he could just go inside for a while.

But the next day brought so much rain. We missed church, so we listened to a sermon online. I did get two more trees planted, the fig and the apple. In the afternoon we went to across the bay to do some shopping. Kyle was uncooperative most of the day. He obeyed when we asked for him to do something, but he did so with resistance and attitude.

After dinner, I asked him to bring me his school planner. I found that he had homework to do. Quite a bit of it too. He “forgot” about it and pitched a fit when I told him it needed to e done tonight. After a two hour battle, I sent him to bed. He will need to get up early and finish it instead of his morning cartoon. I can only hope that break in routine doesn’t mess up his day at school.

His doctor is coming to the school to meet with our team of teachers in a couple weeks. The hope is to help our teachers understand him better and write a success plan for Kyle. Maybe then things will even out a bit, with school anyway. For now I guess I have to continue to remind him to follow his routines. And to ask God for strength and guidance each day.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”                                                                               Philippians 4:6

Fire

Lessons in Fire

Fire seems to be a theme for this past week.

First, there were the wildfires in Texas. The Magnolia fire to be exact.  It’s one thing to watch it on the news and pray for people in harm’s way. But it became more personal for us when Nana and Uncle Bob were evacuated.

The fire line came within 4 miles of his property. They were out of the house and in a hotel for about 3 days. It was quite an anxious and expensive time for them, especially with the 2 little dogs in a kennel.  I was able to follow the evacuation updates online. It was neat to have the fire line and Uncle Bob’s spread on the map in front of me at work so I could pray that it would not go further. All is well that ends well. Nana and Uncle Bob are back home with their little doggies.

That was last week. Sunday, hubby was at the school and my son and I were hanging out at home. I had a pork butt on the smoker and was planting some onion sets out back when I heard the fire trucks. Now, that in itself is not unusual since we live 5 blocks from the fire station. But the sirens stopped and the sound of the truck engines kept coming closer.

Then I heard it stop out front. I was so sure someone had seen the smoke from my cooking and called the fire department.  I wish now that had been the case. I bolted through the house and out the front door.  The truth was, my neighbor’s house was on fire.

At first it didn’t seem so bad. My neighbor was in the front yard on the cell phone I think. The firefighters arrived and started to lay out the equipment. My son came outside and we watched the firemen flush the hydrant and hook up the hose. Everyone seemed so calm and professional. We could see some smoke coming from the back of her house. It looked like maybe her grill had got away from her.

That reminded me of my own cooking project. I decided I better get back out to check on it. I had thoughts of people thinking there was another fire, so I checked it often. I kept going back and forth, planting a few onions, checking on my son and peeking at the action out in front of my house. They had blocked off the street, so I called hubby to warn him to come home the other way.

Then we started hearing a lot of noise. People were yelling, windows were popping and firefighters were running. I found out later that they were inside fighting the fire in the wall when it began to burn through the ceiling. They had to get out quick and fight it from the outside. Remember the personal alarms the firemen wear? I learned about then after September 11^th. They go off if a firefighter falls so the other members of the team can find him in the smoke. I actually heard them go off a couple times.

In minutes they lost a home that was completely paid for and the family cat. Several of us came out to see if we could help, but the Red Cross was there to help, so there was nothing to do but pray.

 That evening, we enjoyed our dinner, although I think it was too well done. My son had asked questions throughout, but did not come out of the house again that evening. At first I thought it did not affect him at all. The next morning however, he had a complete meltdown because he could not find his wallet. I thought we would never get to school. After the tantrum, he calmed down and had a great day at school.

 I thank God for blessing my family and keeping them safe. Thank you for sparing my in-laws’ property from the fire and the food that fire helped to provide.  I am praying hard for the family a few doors away who lost their home to fire.  Help them to begin again and let that fire bring them closer to You.

Amen

My Garden Stroll

All that rain has finally passed. Now I need to water again, since it is no longer being done for me J

But that does allow me to walk the garden each day. It helps me to stay on top of things like weeds and pests. And to enjoy my little successes .  As much as I would prefer to water from my rain barrel, one is not enough to keep up with a garden this size. Plus, it is too time consuming to water the entire back yard by hand. I attached a hose to the rain barrel so that I can water the plants closest to the house. But the pressure is really low. I found a big watering can at a yard sale for $1, that really helps

My lettuce is just getting started, but it is tall enough for me to go out and snip a few leaves to add to my salad for lunch. It seems to grow well in containers on my patio table, so now I am trying butter crunch in a hanging planter. I haven’t sampled it yet, but I have tried the romaine, oak leaf and red leaf, Yum!

Throughout my garden, I have planted marigolds for color and some natural pest control. I bought a flat of the most beautiful plants with multicolored blooms. I am also intrigued by the possibility of its use in herbal remedies.

Some of my plants amaze me they are doing so well. Others seem to be healthy, but don’t seem to be growing much or developing fruit. My banana trees look great but seem to have stopped growing. My tomatoes haven’t grown or changed since I put them in the ground (not even my volunteers). I had one surprise potato plant that came up on its own. I thought I had lost the entire crop last year, but apparently one survived. Guess I didn't till that bed well. 

My watermelons are a different story. If you think God doesn’t have a sense of humor, try to grow watermelon. Vines everywhere! Growing 8 – 10 feet from where they were planted, pretty little yellow flowers all over them and only one promising melon to show for it. I took this shot yesterday, it was the size of a small grapefruit. They have escaped their beds and grown across paths, through the banana trees, over the logs and up the chain linked fence. The one that has the melon on it grew through the enclosure that holds our pool pump and sprinkler system controls and sprouted a melon right under the electrical outlet. Now we have to be carefull when we plug in our pool pump. I tried so hard to plant things where they would not be in my husbands way of working, but the vine had other ideas J  

So now here I sit with a new bag of seed starting soil and 5 packets of seeds. Oh yeah, and Lowes has peach and apple trees on sale for $19.95!  Do I not know when to quit?! It’s hard to find the time to keep up with it all as it is. But I justify it by planning to go to my first plant swap downtown in a few weeks. But mostly, I imagine myself going out each day and picking fresh food for my son’s breakfast and lunch. Fresh food that I know did not have pesticides and chemicals sprayed on them. I don’t have to wonder how fresh it is or how far it traveled.  And I can be so proud of this partnership I have with the Lord.

“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children”       Ephesians 5:1 NIV

Gardening at Night

Gardening at Night

It’s been a really hot summer! Plus working full time and caring for a home and family doesn’t leave a lot of time for gardening. But the recent rains have helped keep things that I have planted going and also keep my rain barrel full. It’s nice to have water available without turning on the faucet

So, sometimes after dinner I douse myself with mosquito repellent and head outside, even after dark. Cooking dinner can sometimes be a depressing time. I get so frustrated with the cost, quality or both of the food available to us. So when I finish, I am inspired to work on my little farm with the hopes of growing food for my family.

Tonight it was my little corn seedlings.  I started nine of them on wet paper towels in a sandwich bag. These are heirlooms. I did not know there were heirlooms other than tomatoes.  This variety is fifty years old. Out of the seven seeds I started, seven of them had a sprout and long root after only a few days in the bag. I recently started tacking my seed bags up on the bulletin board while I wait for them to sprout. It works great!

After dishes were done tonight, I took my baggie off the board and headed outside. Having floodlights out back really help. I planted all nine seeds into soil in four inch pots. The two that did not sprout were swollen and I am pretty sure will sprout over the next day or two.

But I am getting so far behind! Those little corn plants are going to need a bed soon. I had a great weekend of trading with a new friend here locally and my daughter two counties north. Plus, I found some great buys on veggies at the home improvement store. From my friend, I got oyster plants, sage cuttings and a muscadine grape. From my daughter canna lilies, crinum lilies and a morning glory, plus more seeds than I can count. From the store I bought cauliflower, lettuce, green beans, cucumbers and latana and salvia for my butterfly garden. I really need to make beds for all those plants.  Makes me tired to think about it all. And I still haven’t started the coop!

But then I think of my family and what I want for our future. I imagine my grandsons visiting and exploring my garden with my son leading them. It’s my own bit of paradise. A dream of a new Eden. My little part of the earth God entrusts to my care. I can do this. A few minutes a day if need be. I’ve planted so much already, but it is growing. With every seed that sprouts, I am hopeful of a bountiful harvest.

And a new world for my children.

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Galatians 6:9