March 3/16: Favorite links, wise quotes, your garden & health goals?
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jessjennings0 zone 10b
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What are your goals when you design your garden?
Comments (20)When I bought my house 24 years ago, my kids were babies and we had no money for landscaping. The house sat on an acre of dense woods all around, except for the leachfield which was purely sand and had an odd steep slope to it that my kids would use over the years as a sledding hill, toy truck ramp, ski slope, skateboard hill and anything else that prohibited the growing of grass. My then-husband didn't have any interest or ambition concerning gardening or landscaping (just other women) and I was busy raising my babies so the yard remained devoid of anything other than trees, rocks and sand. Fast forward ten years and I got rid of many of the trees, stumps, rocks, the sandpit, and.....the husband. While a single mom of 3, I had even less money than ever, but I had no one to tell me what I could or couldn't do anymore. I wasn't into roses yet at this point but I got to work getting a lawn going, planting perennials that were given to me as divisions from friends, composting, and learning how to operate lawnmovers, chainsaws, leafblowers, etc. I got really strong, both physically and mentally. I pushed a wheelbarrow chock full of rocks up that steep slope, over and over again, until I had enough to make a stone-lined bed for my lilies. When that bed looked wonderful it inspired me to build more, until I soon had many rock beds full of blooming beauties. This being the Granite State rocks are free and plentiful....all thats needed is a truck, a wheelbarrow and a strong back. Just this fall alone I have added yet another 5 rock beds for roses and lilies. I have to buy loam by the truckful because the soil here is too rocky and sandy by itself....but the wonderful thing is that my now-husband is very much a part of my gardening vision and passion. Even though he is a great help to me, he enjoys bragging about his 'Wonder Woman' (as he calls me) when folks stop to admire our little acre of Eden. He says I look my sexiest when I'm digging or hauling rocks, my hair all in my face and up to my neck in mud and mosquitoes. So I accomplish more than having a show-stopping yard and a place of peace and refuge....my husband is proud of me...my kids, now grown, brag about their mom and how strong and fearless and rose-crazy she is....my mom who has Alzheimers and lives with us can sit outside and enjoy the scent of roses and lilies....our neighbors and folks passing by get a little 'lift' to their day enjoying the garden beds by the roadside... and friends of ours can rid themselves of all those darn rocks in their yards! I know that its just a matter of time (and coming soon) before there is absolutely not one inch more of space for me to add anymore gardens. I have managed to cram more plant material into an acre (and still manage to have a few trees left, although the lawn keeps getting smaller...LOL) than anyone would ever have thought possible. I guess I never really planned anything out, it just evolved over time as a mad gardener's addiction to planting and building garden beds....in any available space that had a bit of sunlight. I never really had a vision in my mind, just a passion in my heart that couldn't be denied. And my heart led the way. One garden led to another, and one rose to another...and another. Sometimes even I am amazed when I look at old photos and see the yard as it was so long ago. A long time ago, an acre seemed like a lot of land but now that I have mostly filled it up, it is feeling crowded. But in a wonderful way! I am surrounded by hundreds of roses, lilies, 2 water gardens, shade gardens, berry bushes, statuary, arches and pergolas....and LOVE. I guess that was my vision after all. Celeste...See MoreWise quotes that help with life & gardening & happiness
Comments (39)I'm a worry freak, esp. when I'm short of sleep. My guardian angel whispered in my ears yesterday when I felt so bad about my daughter's crying, "Life is so hard, don't make it harder by taking it so seriously." Here are some quotes on worrying, from below link" http://www.quotegarden.com/worry.html If I had my life to live over, I would perhaps have more actual troubles but I'd have fewer imaginary ones. ~Don Herold Today is the tomorrow we worried about yesterday. ~Author Unknown Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy. ~Leo Buscaglia People gather bundles of sticks to build bridges they never cross. ~Author Unknown People become attached to their burdens sometimes more than the burdens are attached to them. ~George Bernard Shaw, "Family Affection," Parents and Children, 1914 For peace of mind, resign as general manager of the universe. ~Author Unknown Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow. ~Swedish Proverb We can easily manage if we will only take, each day, the burden appointed to it. But the load will be too heavy for us if we carry yesterday's burden over again today, and then add the burden of the morrow before we are required to bear it. ~John Newton A day of worry is more exhausting than a day of work. ~John Lubbock Worry trades the joy of now for the unlikely catastrophes of later. ~Tim Fargo As a rule, what is out of sight disturbs men's minds more seriously than what they see. ~Julius Caesar Don't shoulder the burdens of others!... Each man has his own special troubles, His worries and problems and woes; Give aid when you can to each mortal, But try not to feel all his blows! For you, too, have burdens to carry; And, if you just wear yourself out In agony over all others, How can you, your own troubles, rout? ~Gertrude Buckingham, "Good Advice" It is not the cares of today, but the cares of tomorrow, that weigh a man down. ~George MacDonald Some of your hurts you have cured, And the sharpest you still have survived, But what torments of grief you endured From the evil which never arrived. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson Worry is a prayer for what you don't want. ~Cultivate Greatness Blog, August 2008 There are people who are always anticipating trouble, and in this way they manage to enjoy many sorrows that never really happen to them. ~Josh Billings Love looks forward, hate looks back, anxiety has eyes all over its head. ~Mignon McLaughlin, The Neurotic's Notebook, 1960 Worry is interest paid on trouble before it comes due. ~William Ralph Inge There are more things, Lucilius, that frighten us than injure us, and we suffer more in imagination than in reality. ~Seneca We are more disturbed by a calamity which threatens us than by one which has befallen us. ~John Lancaster Spalding We are, perhaps, uniquely among the earth's creatures, the worrying animal. We worry away our lives. ~Lewis Thomas, The Medusa and the Snail, 1979 Do not be afraid of tomorrow; for God is already there. ~Author Unknown Real difficulties can be overcome, it is only the imaginary ones that are unconquerable. ~Theodore N. Vail No man ever sank under the burden of the day. It is when tomorrow's burden is added to the burden of today that the weight is more than a man can bear. ~George MacDonald Rule number one is, don't sweat the small stuff. Rule number two is, it's all small stuff. ~Robert Eliot He who fears he shall suffer, already suffers what he fears. ~Michel de Montaigne No human thing is of serious importance. ~Plato, The Republic Fear can keep us up all night long, but faith makes one fine pillow. ~Philip Gulley Every evening I turn my worries over to God. He's going to be up all night anyway. ~Mary C. Crowley...See More1/3/16: What you learn this year on wisdom, roses, health, others?
Comments (11)Khalid: I agree on that. I quit my job as a computer-programmer to stay home and take care of my family ... best choice ever ! I treasure every minute with my kid, since the day she was born. Lots of people advance professionally but don't take the time to mature spiritually or emotionally. Good choices guide us toward the right path which leads to heaven & eternal life. One of the book I read was a comparative study between Western vs. Eastern on marriage. The West focuses on "Love as a feeling", people get married out of "romantic-love", or "being in love", then divorce when the feeling is gone !! In contrast, Eastern countries get married on "choice", the parents choose the mate for one's son or daughter. Psychologists did a survey: those who were pre-arranged to be married end up happier and stay with each other MORE SO than those got married through feelings of "being-in-love". Why? Because they form good habits of choosing love everyday, rather than do things only when they feel like it. The minute they don't feel attracted to their spouse, they find someone else. When people base things on "feelings", they become fickle, unstable, weaker, and betray each other. Only in my 50's that I realize love is a choice, rather than a feeling. I was in "mutual-in-love" relationships when I was young .. it lasted 1 year the max, typical of "in-love" relationship ... like sweet frosting on a cake, but the cake crumbles. Love is a choice builds a solid cake, and the frosting is a by-product of the loving actions. It's stronger than "love as feelings" because the commitment lasts forever. An excerpt from below link on making choices to love our spouse better: "Love is a choice, not a feeling or an emotion. It’s a decision you make every day of your life. Even when your mate doesn’t take out the trash, or spends too much time at the mall, or when poor financial decisions set you back—you can still decide to love. Love is for better or worse. And when you choose not to love, you’ve given up and given in." http://tinybuddha.com/blog/love-is-a-choice-30-ways-to-love-in-action/ The Bible, and what Jesus taught also point to Love as a choice, rather than a feeling. “just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you; remain in my love.” (John 15:9) John 13:34-35 “I give you a new commandment—to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 Everyone will know by this that you are my disciples—if you have love for one another.” John 15:12-13 “My commandment is this—to love one another just as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this—that one lays down his life for his friends.” Luke 6:27-28 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you.28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. Deuteronomy 30:19 “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! http://www.redeemingmarriages.com/love-is-more-than-a-feeling-its-also-a-choice/...See MoreYour favorite products, food & recipes, roses, wise quotes, ideas?
Comments (51)THANK YOU, LAVENDER, for alerting me to the danger of glycation. My best dinners were made in a slow-cooker (low heat with plenty of liquid), rather than fried !! Here's the link to my Pinterest slow-cooker recipes: THANK YOU, VAPORVAC, for setting a good example of hot whole-grained cereals for breakfast. I used to do the same, but neglected that, thanks to eating my kid's pickiness. https://www.pinterest.com/clonewar/slow-cooker/ My sister convinced me to buy a pressure-cooker, and it WAS HORRIBLE IN TASTE. The temp. was so high that it ALTERED FOODS and made everything stinky, be it cooked beans, meat, or soup. I used that a few times, and never again !! I boiled chick-peas in that pressure-cooker, and it stank so bad my kid complained loudly & I trashed the whole mushy pot. Compare that to aromatic chick-peas boiled with low-heat over the stove top, which retained its firmness & flavor. I use the microwave to quickly heat up food (with liquid) to zap out germs, rather than long cooking high temp. like pressure cooker which destroys food. Cooking food to death is not a good idea. The high-heat destroys proteins 1st, but microwaving vegetables with water for a short time to kill germs .. that still retains nutrients and beans & peas are still bright green. I checked on the nutrients retained with microwaving veggies vs. steaming veggies, and microwaving FOR A SHORT TIME IN WATER retained more nutrients, with less loss in water. My personal measure stick for AGE (advanced glycation end-products) is HOW MUCH JUICE I NEED TO DRINK to chase away the "stinkiness" or "rancidness" of high-temp. cooking or over-processed foods. More juice = more calories. http://www.diabetesforecast.org/2014/11-nov/foods-high-in-ages.html Which foods are high and which are low in AGEs. Protein-rich foods: Red meat and cheese tend to have the most. In descending order, chicken, fish, eggs, and legumes have less. Grains: Boiled grains, such as rice and oatmeal, and sandwich breads are low in AGEs. When grains are processed into crispy brown crackers or fatty cookies and sweetened with sugars, however, their AGE content can soar. Dairy: Milk and yogurt are low in AGEs, but when moisture is removed and fat is concentrated (as in cream, butter, and cheese), the AGE content rises dramatically. Fats: Vegetable fats tend to have fewer AGEs than animal fats. Animal fats are also more likely to be high in unhealthy saturated fats. To further reduce AGEs, cook foods at low temperatures and with lots of water-based moisture by steaming, stewing, poaching, and braising. Stay away from fried foods. deep-fried chicken has more than six times the amount of AGEs than steamed chicken. When you grill meats, marinating your food in an acid such as lemon juice or vinegar before cooking it will reduce AGEs by up to half. http://www.diabetesforecast.org/2014/11-nov/foods-high-in-ages.html...See Morejessjennings0 zone 10b
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8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoKhalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
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8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoKhalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
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8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoKhalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)
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Khalid Waleed (zone 9b Isb)