Name Change

I really like "Chlorophyllic Mojolicious."  A lot.  And maybe someday I'll change the name back.  But I hope not for a really long time.

See, some of you who know me know my mother-in-law Janet lives with us.  She has for a really long time, maybe about five years.  Now, most people shuddered when I said she was moving in, and I'll be honest, I thought that this was going to be a disaster.

I was also raised with many examples of parents moving in with their children when they were not able to take care of themselves.  My faith also stresses the importance of family, and not just when family is fun or not-problematic.  (At least, in my opinion.  I've since learned that others' mileages may vary, and that's fine.)

Janet is a quiet woman, for the most part.  She's got diabetes that is difficult to control, so often has blood sugar drops.  She also can't hear, but can only wear a hearing aid in just one ear.  The other one is beyond help.  She has a small dog, Sassy, and I'm not sure which one depends on the other one more.  Janet likes to be industrious, and hates to just sit around, but she also doesn't drive, which means that her independence is tied very much to whether my spouse or I are home and can take her where she needs to go.  We juggle the best we can, and for the most part it's actually worked out.  She takes care of my dog and cat while we are gone at work during the day and the house is generally not vacant then, either.  She does make dinner at least half the time too, which is nice.

Janet was also recently diagnosed with the early stages of Alzheimers.  I do have my reservations about her doctor, but they have her on medicine which seems to be helping.  Mostly all she has right now is forgetfulness and transposing numbers.  She also can't find words sometimes, and I either way until she does, or if it's urgent, fill it in for her.

Why I have renamed this blog:  Janet doesn't remember much sometimes, but she does remember growing up in Southern Ohio, in the very Northern fringes of Appalachia.  And she remembers her mother and father growing much of their own food.  And she remembers how to do it, how to preserve and dry, and all the things I would like to do.

One thing that I have read about folks with Alzheimers, dementia, and similar disorders is that keeping them active and engaged is important.  It was with that in mind that I insisted we expand our garden and she is now involved.  She is excited to help me hill the potatoes when it is time, and when we found out we could use the green unripe apples on my tree to still make apple jelly she was pleased.  I got her two cucumber plants for the garden so we can make pickles.

The garden began as a way for me to connect to the natural rhythms of the land around me, bring me closer in tune with the Earth Mother and Sky Father.  If it supplemented our grocery purchases, all the better.  However, now I think I was asked to start if for another purpose, to help Janet stay with us as long as possible.  Hence the name change.  I'll change it back when it's no longer for that, but again, I hope it's not for a while.

So far, I've been getting about half a cup of raspberries a day.  No strawberries yet, but that's to be expected.  I think (and Janet has confirmed) the onions are ready to have their leaves bent over to bulb up, and we might be ready to hill the potatoes.  The cucumbers, beans, and squash are doing fine, but that bed seems to dry out quicker than the others.  We've had several days of rain and it's bone dry.  Two of the three tomato plants have actually come back, but the third is done.  I have a TINY green pepper though. The herbs are just HUGE, so I think I need bigger containers so I can separate them out. The first batch of basil and mint is dried and ready to be unhung, only to be replaced with another bunch, and I think the oregano could probably get some trimming too.

Instead of going to Chillicothe for the family reunion tomorrow, I think I shall stay home and get started on the apple jelly, pole the beans, and maybe see if i can plant those things C. gave me.  They may not survive, but we'll at least give it a shot.