Spring Fever

 

Rainie: "Hey Mom! What is this thing?"

 

Mommy: "It's a push lawnmower."

 

Rainie: "Where do you put the gas?"

 

Mommy: "You don't. You push it and it cuts the grass by using muscles."

 

Rainie: "Oh! I get it! So the gas is in your tush! HA!"

 

Mommy: "Please don't tell me Sohi has been telling you fart jokes again..."

 

Daisy: "Oh look, there is something in here!"

 

 

Rainie: "Hey! I think it's broken! Why is this so high? How can I use it for training if I can't use it? I have to be prepared for any situation!"

 

Mommy: "What kind of situation would require you to use a push lawnmower?"

 

Rainie: "Well... If there is a job opening for a grounds keeper at some mysterious but known HK headquarters, I could pose as a part of the maintenance crew and infiltrate the building!"

 

Mommy: "Who ever said you are old enough to get a job? You are only thirteen so it is a minimum of three more years for you in our state."

 

Daisy: "Hello little fuzzy and green moss! I hope you have a good day!"

 

 

Rainie: "Well fine then. Someone needs to build me a seat right up here so it can be a riding lawnmower!"

 

Mommy: "By 'someone' you mean me, don't you?"

 

Rainie: "Of course!"

 

Mommy: "Before or after your tree house?"

 

Rainie: "Headquarters Mom. Headquarters!"

 

 

Daisy: *runs at full speed across the yard* "Eddie... EDDIEEEEE..."

 

 

Daisy: "Eddie confettiiiiii...."

 

Eddie: *doesn't seem to hear his cousin as he sits and talks to himself* "And then the fire truck drives up with sirens blaring to save the crashed delivery van. Wee-ooo wee-ooo."

 

 

Daisy: *plops down exhausted* "Ouch! This is not a very soft rock."

 

Eddie: "Hey Daisy."

 

Daisy: "Whatcha doing all the way back here Eddie spaghetti?"

 

Eddie: "Just sitting on Dad's rock. He said he used to sit back here a lot when he was my age. It's what boys do."

 

Daisy: "Boys sit on rocks. Got it. Oh, goodness me! You got new shoes too? Your mom just gave me these ones today. She said I couldn't go outside without shoes. My old ones are falling apart. She said that these would keep my feet dry in the garden. I call them my Garden Galoshes!"

 

Eddie: "I've had these for a while. Mom says that boys outgrow their shoes a lot so she decided to get me new ones. I don't like wearing socks."

 

 

Daisy: "Stockings are the best! I don't know who I'd be without mine! Silly things like to get grass stains on them sometimes. And then the holes have to be repaired, but then you can just add more patches! I LOVE patches!"

 

Eddie: "Did a raindrop just land on my nose?"

 

 

Daisy: "1...2...3... allie-OOP!"

 

Eddie: "I wonder if Sis could make us some little stairs. She builds things sometimes. These ones are just too big."

 

Rainie: "But Mom, I wasn't done mapping out the new obstacle course! We have been stuck inside all winter and my troops are getting fat and lazy!"

 

Mommy: "I don't want you climbing all over those old tires, they are dirty. Everyone's going inside because it's starting to rain again. We'll see what the weather is like tomorrow to see if we can get some mowing done. I think Daddy almost has dinner done. Inside you little varmint!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Long time no see, eh? This last year has been difficult to say the least. And it was all capped off in November with multiple new food allergies popping up viciously and deciding to make me sick enough that they could not be ignored. (If you are wondering I was already allergic to pineapple and honey, and now I have to add wheat/gluten, dairy, commercially made citric acid, yeast, and I can't seem to eat soy sauce (including tamari & Bragg's amino acids), miso, or other foods that are fermented with the same culture and one that seems common in Japanese foods and I think Sake. And on top of that, I've been vegetarian for over a decade. Simply between the gluten & citric acid, it eliminates 98-99% of commercially prepared foods.) To say the least, my life has been dumped on my head.

 

Add my sun allergy into that mess and it isn't hard to see why I have been having the hardest time shaking my depression. I love my little DD Kiddos so much but to be perfectly honest, when you have over 20 it is hard not to have some fall through ther perverbial cracks as it were. The stories never stop. That makes me both very happy and utterly frustrated at the same time. Trying to manage my freaking allergies, photography, getting everyone basic clothes sewn up, stage props, whole entire set designs done, and still have time to properly dobleepent it all... at the worst of times it feels like a crushing weight that I can't make any progress on. Fluxuating between being highly creative and bouts of depression that last for months, I am currently trying to recover from my life that is just a disaster.

 

These last few months have forced me to rethink what life 'should' be. The last few days have hit me really hard with the desire to garden, driven partially by the fact I miss it so much, and partially because fresh produce and beans is much of what I can still eat. Last month marked that it has been seven years since I tried to garden. That's when my sun allergy became readily apparent. I still remember taking those photos being in complete shock. But still, I cannot imagine another 30+ years of my life not being able to watch nature do her best, outside of limited human control. I've tried having garden plants indoors and they all turn out so lanky and it almost reinforces my limitation. Frankly my sun allergy is so severe it is literally a disability. That's why these pictures in our back yard give me hope.

 

Spring is normally the only time I can take pics like this because any other time of year it is just an overgrown weed patch. (I really hate admitting this, but it's true.) I don't know if my allergy is going to force me to utterly fail, but it doesn't take Rainie to tell me that I can at least try. This yard is nearly in the same state and layout it was when I moved into this house almost 18 years ago. Raven's parents own the house and I was always afraid to do anything too drastic, fearing their disapproval. About two years ago Raven's father passed away unexpectedly. He was a hard man to deal with at times but he was more of a real father to me in 20 years than my own dad has been in nearly 40. We all still miss him terribly, but there are still instances that I'm relieved that I no longer have to worry about his harsh criticism of something changing around the house, simply because he would have done it differently. Like the yard. Two nights ago I was thinking of some simple plants to grow to try and learn how to garden despite my allergy. (One thought is to have flood lights that I can set up at night.) Top of my list is tomatoes because I can eat one like most people would snarf an apple. But the ones in the grocery store are the produce equivalent of something tasting like cardboard. This is NOT what tomatoes tasted like from the grocery store when I was in grade school. I know what a real tomato tastes like. There is no comparison to what can easily be grown at home. Tomatoes are so super easy to grow, especially in our backyard that gets very hot and very full sun most of the summer. Both of my grandfathers were gardeners, one was a farmer. Ellie is a born and bred country girl because I could never get it out of my blood. But we are stuck smack dab in the middle of the city. Far from the countryside.

 

Or are we? Every time I look at that yard, all I see is a big rectangle straight back to the alley. I just wish I had so much more space. But with space comes sunlight. Unexpectedly Ellie spoke up. "I would like to grow some tomatoes too." My first thought was, "But you can't! They would be massive. That's why I have to build every single darn prop to make a yard for the stage indoors. A full garden alone would take me more than a year and would still lack depth." Ellie smiled sweetly. "They don't have to be very big tomatoes." A couple of thoughts bubbled in the back of my thoughts. Then a few more. Then a staggering thought came to the forfront. They do have DD scale tomatoes. Cherry & Currant tomatoes that I vaguely remember hearing about many years ago. I don't know what the plants look like compared to full sized tomatoes, but those things are SO tiny! There are also miniature roses, and small leafed herbs like thyme... It felt like my brain exploded with a big idea. I've wanted a garden for Ellie shortly after she got here. As a kid I thought it would be a cool idea to have a miniature Japanese garden full of real plants, not models like my dad makes for his model trains. So why not do some research and see how many real plants can be grown so Ellie can have a real garden?

 

The idea blew me away. We headed to Pinterest to start an idea board. And Ringo kept forcefully requesting I pin the fairy garden stuff. And Rainie started going on about a treehouse. And we found a pin for a (toy) dinosaur garden. And Eddie wanted a dirt track for playing with his cars. And Yuriko said we needed a pool and a lounge chair so she could sit out and get a tan. Tama wants a clothesline for hanging the wash. And we need a picnic table. And Bree would be running around in a tulle skirt. And Ellie said it isn't a farm without a chicken coop and an outhouse. I protested at the outhouse, only compromising on a fairy sized one, not a DD one. Then a gazing globe was requested. Then a wishing well. A swing set. A sandbox. doghouses. A grassy hill to roll down. Then Ralph said he needs a basketball court... My life is no longer simple. I have one small idea and everyone has to chime in. Even Miss Lottie said we need a broom for the cement steps. The biggest thing that happened was I was suddenly thinking on how to design the layout of a good portion of the yard in 1/3 scale landscaping. I was thinking of what might be possible if I made a real DD yard.

 

I don't know if I'm going to completely fail on this due to multiple factors. But I want to try. It is a multi-year project, but I still want to try. I also hope to share more pictures with you guys of the DD out in their 'new' space. Please forgive me if it isn't always picture perfect. Despite the creative angles I can use in my photos, my life has never been picture perfect. I'm trying to do better now that I'm slowly recovering from a long depression, missing you guys the whole time but hiding since my life isn't pristine.

 

About Daisy: Since the three Kiddos decided to go outside, rain or shine, and I knew I'd have to get a few shots even with just my camera phone. I had been wondering as I was taking pics if anyone might recognize her 'costume'? I went searching for the Mikuru sculpt for another one of my DD remake girls. Daisy is my version of Raggedy Ann. I have a much larger and smaller cotton Raggedy Ann dolls, the newer one has daisies printed on her blue dress. Some how Daisy also seems to be as carefree as the flower she was named after. Her last name is Patches because it was a play on Raggedy, but also because it makes me think of an old patchwork quilt, and the vintage 1970s calico prints. It's hard to see clearly but the heart on her pinafore is a stitched on heart patch. All of her clothes will have patches on them. This outfit was intended to be her Halloween costume and then have the later story that she won't take it off, but the truth is this is her 'default' outfit. She's supposed to have her black Mary Jane shoes that Mikuru comes with but unfortunately the ones I have are severely flaking and cracking. So I'll have to figure out a way to make her new ones. Her 'garden galoshes' were another random pair of off-brand American Girl sized shoes that we had laying around that amazingly fit because of the strap! And one final note: I did not Photoshop her running or Photoshop anything out in those shots! I really wanted her to run (I've seen this a ton with Rainie in my mind) and suddenly had the idea to just bend a metal hanger for a quick stand/support that could just be shoved into the ground and looped around the top of her leg joint by her hip. It worked brilliantly! I am so thrilled that I can actually have the Kiddos running around the yard!

 

~Sister Kyoya

It's great to see you back here! I didn't even realize this was your post at first, just saw a new photo story, clicked it, and was like 'Rainie?!' I'm glad you're doing a little better. And I was glad to see more of Eddie!

You are yet another person I know that can't eat most foods not made by them due to crazy allergies. It is not an easy thing to deal with, and so good for you for trucking through and getting out with your little ones.

 

As for gardening, just go do it. Have your hubby put in flood lamps in the backyard so you can work once the sun is down. Weeding, watering, planting, and harvesting don't need to be done during daylight hours. And your backyard is plenty big enough to grown things. Mine is smaller, and I still have two 4x8 planter boxes with stuff growing in them (Green onions, bell peppers, jalapenos, tomatoes, cubleepber, and potatoes.). I still have to build a cage around one of them, never thought of including my girls, but you may of just inspired me to do a photo story...

 

Anywho, if you don't mind getting some gardening advice, once there is lighting so you can see after sundown, go get three 2"x8" by 8' boards from your local home improvement store (Home Depot, Lowes, or whatever is in your neck of the woods.) and have one cut in half. Get some long screws, I prefer 3-4" drywall screws, to use to make a box with the 2x8's (I'd buy a box since you'll want to make more than one planting bed, use 3 screws in each corner.). When you've made the box frame, place it where you want the bed to be. I'd suggest getting some stakes and putting them in the inside corners to keep the box in place. It's not necessary, but can be helpful. Now take your shovel and dig down about the depth of the shovel blade on the inside of the box, dump the dirt anywhere you want outside the box. This will help get rid of any grass roots and weed seeds. Now get garden soil, playground sand, and horse/cow/chicken manure (if you can) and fill the box up with them, mixing it all best you can. Water it daily for a week or so and now you are ready to plant. This is a great way to do it as you can do one box at a time as you have the money to do it. Place each additional box 18-24" away from the last. And every year you can add a little more dirt to the box as needed. Here is a photo of ours.

 

 

Yesh, that's me. My wife likes taking photos of me for some reason, and this is the only good photo I have right now of our gardens. This was a couple weekends ago when I was building this cage. The neighborhood stray cats seems to think my garden is their luxurious litter box, so I had to build this to keep them out. Cat poop is not good for veggies. If you want details on the cages, let me know.

Hey Torino! I thought about posting a link to this on Twitter but I decided to see if I could surprise you and Katnaper. I try so hard to keep positive as much as I can, but part of me is concerned that I can't juggle one more thing. After 5 months and I'm still struggling everyday to figure out what to eat for breakfast. Seems simple but I'm at a complete loss. And in the US it seems impossible to have a breakfast that isn't high sugar, has meat somewhere, or has gluten in it. Even Corn Flakes has barley malt in it and makes me thoroughly sick. So I kinda feel like I'm insane for chucking a huge garden project on top of everything. Especially when it inherently causes more requests from the Kiddios, like Ellie says she needs working garden tools (should be able to make them from polymer clay) and a new outfit to garden in (she does need one.) So it's at one of those points where I'm entirely unsure if I'll slowly start to juggle more things successfully or if it is going to just fall all on my head. So I'm just trying my best.

 

Sinclair: My grandfather had 25 different food allergies so I guess it is just expected. (He was even allergic to my grandmother's hair.) Sometimes I just struggle with wondering why it had to be me though. Dairy isn't tolerated well in my family, but I've been avoiding that for the most part for many years now. The violent reaction to gluten really took me by surprise though. If I eat even a trace amount of it, within six hours I get a painful ear infection, my nose stuffs up to the point where I can't breathe, and I get queasy and sick to the point where my stomach hurts that I can't breathe because the pain is so bad. A lot of this varies in intensity depending how much I eat, but it still takes 3-4 days to recover from it. I have the same reaction to commercial citric acid (not actually from fruit because it would be prohibitively expensive.) But from what I've been able to tell, even if there are trace amounts of gluten or commercial citric acid in foods I still have a noticeable reaction. I can sometimes find foods labeled as gluten free and don't have citric acid, but I still have a severe reaction to it. On further research (when I'm not in the grocery store simply trying to find something to eat) I find that one or the other is a hidden ingredient that the companies don't have to state because it is below the 20? 200? parts per million threshold that the government deems acceptable. My biggest concern about the citric acid is related to my pineapple allergy. In the beginning it was just fresh pineapple that gave me hives. Within 3-4 years it was any pineapple. So my worry is that even natural citric acid may cause me problems later down the road, limiting my food choices even more including having to remove all tomatoes and citrus. I just hope that day never comes.

 

As for gardening, I can grow things but I have never been taught how to actually garden. The few people in my family who have known how to grow stuff really take the whole process for granted. "You just plant stuff, water it, and pull the weeds." Generally that's true but there are a ton of minor variables that make a big impact. I'm sure when a lot of people think of Washington State, they think of Seattle and rain. LOTS of rain. But we live on the other half of the state with the Cascade mountain range that keeps all the clouds near the coast. Where we live, our average rainfall is so little we are technically a desert. Millions of years ago our area was at the bottom of a huge river so at least we are fortunate to have good dark soil instead of something sandy or other problematic dirt. Our back yard gets full sun during long summers, consistently in the upper 90s if not higher. Our backyard positively gets baked. In all the years I've been trying to teach myself to garden (none of my siblings do and my mom has a distinct brown thumb) I have never been able to find a decent explanation in knowing HOW MUCH and how often to water. I don't want to put all the effort into the yard and have it all dry up, or just waste a bunch of water.

 

By your 4x8 garden beds I'd assume you are doing square foot gardening? I have been itching to get that book. I borrowed it from the library many years ago and loved how clear it was. I really hate weeding and would love to do it as little as possible. Because of finances this summer I won't have the chance to make new garden beds, or the proper mix to put in them until next year. I know having the right soil helps a lot with the watering issue but right now I just have to make due with what I have. I think this year I'll just have to mark off the proper bed size and just dig into the ground. My long term hope is with the DD landscaping to replace a lot of this dumb grass. SUCH a water hog! I'd love to replace it with clover and just keep that mowed.

 

The only problem with being a 'Midnight Gardener' is having enough light. I really am not keen on dragging out lights all the time. I have tried nighttime gardening before and sometimes bright light isn't sufficient especially when weeds are hiding in the shadows. So my solution for now is to work around the shade provided by our house. In the morning the front yard is shaded, and by about 3 pm the house shadow starts creeping across the backyard. Our strip of side yard is in full sun all day and our carport is in full shade and we have talked more than once about converting it into a patio.

 

At least I know that tomatoes love our backyard from past experience. I just need to learn to prune the darn things. I always feel so guilty even though I know it's better for the plant and (I think) makes for greater yields. I appreciate knowing the height of your beds. That was one factor I couldn't remember and I was trying to figure out what the bed size would be in 1/3 scale so I could start to plan the layout of Ellie's garden. We may not have enough wood around for full-sized projects at the moment, but we have lots of old wood that should work for DD scale stuff.

 

Do you have an opinion about treated vs. untreated lumber for the garden beds? I know the treated would last longer, but I'm just curious about your thoughts.

 

Now I'm off to go pull more weed stems out of the yard so I can get it mowed. Well, after I find out who's demanding to go out with me and getting them ready first.

 

~Sister Kyoya

Rainie is the best. SUCH a nut. And I dig that! You know, now that my own Abby is finally gelling, I think she probably hero-worships Rainie a little bit.

 

As for the garden, at this point I'd say it's practically self-care--both for your depression and your dietary needs. Go for it! Maybe start with a few container plants to get a handle on how plants react to your local climate? Sinclair's idea of adding some big, bright lights so you can work at night is pretty awesome too.

 

I finally have a south-facing porch (though not a yard) so I'm going to be trying a container garden myself soon I think. My uncle, on the other hand, has a homemade vertical hydroponics tower! @_@ Pretty impressive. It's apparently a great way to get a lot of plants into a small space, so it may be worth researching to make the most of your yard. (Word of warning: many of your research results will be about growing weed. Thankfully garden veg is a lot less finicky than weed!)

It's so awesome to see your post SK! I missed you and the kiddos. Rainie is certainly up to her usual hijinx. Lol. She has got a fertile imagination I'd live to see phitos of her 'headquarters' once its completed. Unless if course it's a secret base or something. And Eddie and Daisy are both quite cute. I love that photo of her running and when they all climb the stairs and that big rock. That is so neat! Like a small DD sized hill.

 

As for the garden, like the others say, go for it! I am thinking of giving ours a go again this year but mostly flowers. I'm not quite sure if I can get one going as I have never really had any real luck with plants. That and our mosquitoes are huge and they hide in the bushes and attack me whenever I make the mistake of gardening too early or too late. I end up weeding when its full sun and then I get sunburnt. Or I have to do it in the afternoon after work in which case I end up being the 'dinner date type special' and I itch for weeks. I tried OFF and all kinds of repellant but I'm like a mosquito magnet so its usually no go. So maybe I can just fulfill my gardening fantasies vicariously through you and your kiddos?? ) Anyhow, I hope you continue to feel better. I look forward to seeing more garden adventures with your kiddos!

Don't know anything about this square foot gardening you speak of. Okay, I'll say it, I'm LDS, and if you know about us, we are suppose to be big into gardening. I remember having a garden or two growing up, and I know fresh tastes way better than store bought, so I've wanted one. Well, someone in my local congregation heard I'm been thinking about it and stopped by with the wood for the 1st box. He is really big into gardening (Once a year come to church with 2-3 5 gallon buckets with tomatoes the size of softballs for people to take as that's more than his wife and him need.), and feels that the best way to do it is just to start. That year my tomatoes were more the size of a rubber ball, but we grew something. That's also when I learned cats love to use it as a litter box, so we didn't do anything with it for over a year. Once I had the stuff to build the cages, I scooped the dirt all out and bought new to mix up and plant in.

 

I live in Arizona, so I know what you mean about hot, dry and full sun. It does make it hard to grow stuff. The University of Arizona did some study and research at one point about home gardening in the state, and thus created an excellent chart with what to plant and when to plant it depending where in AZ you are. Maybe you could hit up your state's university sites and see if you can find like information. You may have to find an email and email departments for links. As for watering, seeds and seedlings water daily, plants every 2-3 days. Basically you want to keep the ground moist just below the surface. Once the plants are growing, the ground can have a dry crust, but you should be able to poke your finger up to the 1st knuckle and feel moist dirt. Also, look at your plants everyday, if they start to look wilty water them. That's how I do it as the temps change daily (We are swinging between the 70's and the 90's the last two weeks.). I like to water until there is standing water that takes 10-20 seconds to soak in once I remove the water source.

 

As for lumber, I bought just standard 2x8's so untreated. I then took white paint I had leftover from painting the house and gave the boards a couple coats to help increase the time it took for me to need to replace them. If your local stores carry that plastic wood boards (Mine only had 3x.5 or 4x.5 boards, so not big enough.) I'd use that as then you won't have to worry about it needing to be replaced. As for lighting, get some flood lamps installed on the house and fence, and that should give you enough to see well. As for weeds hiding, if your plants are big enough that the weeds are hiding, then the weeds won't be able to hurt them, just cut the weeds once you see them if it's not safe to pull them out. It is lots of work, but so worth it for your health.

 

As for food, I had a friend who ended up being allergic to garlic! Do you know how many food garlic is in? I remember her crying one time after some other food started giving her hives in her mouth because it seemed like there wasn't anything she could eat anymore. that was 6+ years ago and she's till alive, so it is possible. Have you seen any specialists about it? I had a friend in high school that was allergic to lots of things as well but got some kind of shot once a month or three months, I don't remember the frequency now, that really helped her with the milder ones and reduced the major ones so she was able to not live in fear of having a bad reaction.

 

I'm no expert, but if anyone has questions I'll willing to tell you what I do know.

Poofiemus: Rainie will always be Rainie. That is one thing I don't expect to change. Even though she is a real character, she is more one dimensional than most of our DD. In her case though, I don't see it as a negative at all. It actually makes her very reliable in her own way. Even if Rainie ever knew she had a fan, they would just be considered to be another informant in her spy network. I doubt she even knows who that would really be since she wouldn't really take the time to carefully plan out something like that. Even her 'troops' encompasses anyone she can wrangle at any given time. Or in the case of Tama, she just drags him along with Dolly boldly going with the whole plan. Is that a plan? Well, for Rainie it is.

 

With getting a new gardening book in the mail today, waiting for a seed order to arrive by next week, and tossing in the seeds that Raven picked up at his work... at least something will end up growing in the back yard. The day after I posted this photo story I took a few more pics outside with the kiddos I need to put up. Then the following day I got a really bad bug bite on my side that swelled up larger than my thumb. Every time I move it feels like a rock is rubbing hard against my ribs. So having to take some time off so that will heal and I can move without a lot of pain. And stupid things like this is the very reason why I say I have bad luck. All I wanted to do was get the lawn mowed to begin with. It is always the most bizarre things like this that pop up and make me feel like I slam into a cement wall. Looked outside today and it is bright, sunny, and made me totally cringe. It is very hard not to feel like this is going to be impossible, but I am so darn irritated that I can't even enjoy my own yard. Still, it is hard to ignore the emotional flinching that pops up knowing the last time I tried to garden outside was when my sun allergy was full-blown and obvious that it was the cause of my hives.

 

Thus I'm hoping the DD will come to the rescue. I bought some seeds for DD sized foods (tomatoes, peppers, and decorative pumpkins if I remember right) to make it be a lot more about them than me. It has helped in a lot of situations before. I'm also trying to figure out what it will be like having the DD in the 'people vegetable garden'. In my mind I always think of them as their actual height if they were real kids. I think of myself as average height (5'6") and DD height (if they were human.) My nephew is Ralph's height (nephew isn't even 18!) By comparison, Raven sees them as their actual physical size so out in the garden the pics would pretty much be 'Honey, I shrunk the Kids.' I'm still trying to wrap my mind around that, especially with Tama next to a sunflower would be like Jack & the Bean Stock. It makes my head hurt sometimes because of how incongruent it is. Either way it will get worked out because I'd rather see the Kiddos happy rather than not.

 

I have done random vegetable gardening before, mostly tomatoes but also various herbs, peas, cantaloupe (didn't turn out well), bell peppers (failed because of lack of calcium?) and mostly flowers. Zinnias, Sunflowers, and marigolds are by far the most idiot proof flowers I've ever grown. My grandfather planted a border of marigolds around his vegetable garden as a bug deterrent. Sure they kinda stink but that's why they work. Plus it is SO easy to collect the seeds from them. So the seeds I bought this year have familiar things I've grown before (is 5 types of tomatoes too much? Naw... ) as well as things I've always wanted to grow but was too afraid to like winter squash (baby hubbard squash, pie pumpkins, and then the pumpkins for Ellie.) If I fail, I'll fail. But at least I'm giving it my best effort. These last few years I've been plagued by not knowing if I even had the skill to grow winter squash. And I simply adore the Fall. Dumb as it may sound, I've been wanting to grow pumpkins since I was a kid. When I was 7 my favorite color was orange. And the Hubbard squash just make me laugh because many years ago one of Raven's former coworkers gave us one that she grew. It arrived a few days before Thanksgiving and it was 1.5 times larger than a turkey! She figured that we were vegetarian so we would have a use for it. Sometimes I still want to call it Turkey Squash. That memory still cracks me up. It was HUGE! Plus it was tasty. So I was glad to see the small size to use as a test so then maybe another year I could grow the big ones.

 

Katnaper: Rainie's headquarters will definitely be a longer term project (an actual wooden tree house) because I still need a table saw and a miter saw. I've needed them for a long time for many DD projects but I'm hoping to get them within the next year depending on how things go. I'm sure Rainie would build a temporary headquarters out of a cardboard box. Man, that brings back more memories. I really love the pic of Daisy running, most of all because it was easy to do with a wire hanger. Can't wait to take some 'full yard' pics when it's filled with the Kiddos just doing their thing, but not being constrained by gravity. A pic like I did with Daisy would have been SO much more complicated trying to do it on the stage and I don't know if it would have turned out as well. I did ask Daisy what she wanted in the yard and she promptly answered. Daisy: "A jam tree! Everything grows on trees!" I love her, but she's pretty much has fluff between her ears.

 

I'm really happy to finally get Eddie out and about. I'm also glad that he's not an annoying twit like I originally thought he would be. Still have a few pics I want to do with him about his favorite sandwich. I am afraid of letting him take his car collection outside and promptly loosing it all in the grass. The hardest part about him so far is wanting SO badly to scrub down the bottom of his new shoes. They got a little dirty out in the yard, but I have to remind myself that he's not Tama. Eddie is a boy who likes to get dirty (as boys do) with holes in his pants and grass stains. He has a 'lived in' look that I need to work on with getting some clothes made for him. Still dreading more pants, and Eddie especially needs jeans. I'm still so pleased that Parabox had the PERFECT shoes for him. I've been so lucky that all my finished boys have perfect shoes as if they were made for them.

 

Mosquito are horrid. I can understand how they would be a huge deterrent. I've got a really big fascination on DD sized foods to grow right now. I'm SO hoping it will work because there are some other small scale crops I want to do for them too. These are probably the thing I'm most excited about even if I don't know what the scale of the overall size of the plant will be. The bell pepper seeds I bought grows peppers 1.5 inches (4 cm) wide! I also bought some German chamomile for DD sized 'daisies' for Daisy. I only grew chamomile once but I really liked it. Another thing I found was Greek basil that looks like it would work for DD sized shrubs. The fact that it's edible is just a bonus. I'm thinking more long term if I want Ellie's garden to be in actual DD scale it will most likely need to be an herb garden. Even so it would be adorable! Already thinking pretty hard on where to grow the mini pumpkins so I can take a pic in the Fall of Ralph in his Charlie Brown shirt. I think it would be funny to have Tama as Linus and Bree as Sally for a Great Pumpkin pic.

 

Sinclair: There is a staggering amount of varieties of tomatoes. I can't wait to take a pic of the DD tomatoes next to a Brandywine beefsteak. (Okay, I always want to call those Hobbit tomatoes. LOL!) It will be very funny. I like the square foot gardening (or Google it and/or look it up on YouTube.) In theory it minimizes the work, effort (mostly weeding), and water usage while maximizing the output. I have never actually tried this myself, and even this year is a half-attempt because I'm having to stick to what I already have, weeds, excess grass and all. Mostly I love it since my OCD has a party being able to plan everything out on a grid. It also gives me a definite plan on how not to overdo it. It also makes it easy for beginner gardeners to just grow stuff. I'd say the only downside is the author sometimes says to do things a certain way because he likes the look of it when it can be done differently and maintain the same function. Still, the system seems to be a solid one.

 

In my opinion, LDS or not, I personally think everyone should take more of an interest in gardening. But I can understand that not everyone has the time/space/desire/ability to do it. I'm also one of those people who made an anti-pollution poster as a school assignment in 4th or 5th grade. I'm also a ovo-vegetarian/borderline vegan so that says a lot about what I think about those sort of issues (Ringo is actually vegan so she's been delighted at my new allergies because there is more food she can eat. HA!) But mostly I love gardening because it is amazingly fascinating to see something grow from almost nothing, and if it's food, then you can do stuff with it! One of the reasons I bought lots of tomato seeds since there is VERY little processed tomato stuff I can eat. Right now it's one brand of spaghetti sauce and a store brand of tomato paste. Even the tomato sauce has citric acid. So I want tomatoes to eat fresh, some for cooking with, some for making tomato paste (always wanted to try), and quite a few to dehydrate in various forms, including some to make into tomato powder. Plus I think I have to blame a little of my fascination of gardens on Sesame Street and the Twittlebugs. And I have my 11cm Obitsu pixies/fairies to play with out there once they get some hair. And my 80s Strawberry Shortcake dolls.

 

We have one stray tom cat that thinks our backyard is his domain. The garden bed = litter box is definitely a concern. Did some research earlier and found a suggestion about placing rose bush branches in the garden bed to keep them out. Someone else mentioned holly leaves, and we have an Oregon grape bush that has leaves like that and really needs to be trimmed back. So those are some ideas I'm going to try. Another idea is to use cardboard for mulch. Won't look pretty but if it gets the job done that's what I'm concerned about. As for the watering, everything I remember reading/hearing was complicated, feeling like it was more like a train schedule than something simple to figure out, or it was just 'water until it's 'enough.' People need to learn that enough is not a calculable measurement. "Stick your finger in it" is simple but at least it's understandable and makes sense!

 

I think it's funny when people see gardening only as work. Sure there is a fair amount of that, but then there is also the times when you can just sit back and admire the whole thing. And simply having fun digging in the dirt. I loved digging in the dirt as a kid and it's something I never seemed to grow out of. Plus earthworms are cute. CUTE I tell you! I've always thought so. Happy worms make for happy gardens.

 

I really don't have faith in doctors when it comes to things like weird allergies, especially food allergies. It doesn't seem to be a part of how they are trained (my grandfather was a doctor.) When Raven was diagnosed as diabetic, the doctor was rattling on and on about what to eat. I wasn't too surprised when she was like 'meat this and meat that... Meat, meat, meat!" When I simply asked her how so-and-such type beef would compare to tofu. She was literally at a loss for words. She had NO idea. I asked about beans. Still hardly a clue, and it came out almost as a sneer. It was clear she couldn't fathom where we were even coming from. Eventually she just said to use meat analogs (despite the fact that nutritionally it isn't even the same even if they also contain protein, yet most contain a large portion of wheat.) Beans are higher in carbs (big no-no) but are heavily offset by the fiber they add. So all of that combined with other experiences I've had with doctors and one nutritionist, sure they could run the tests and tell me what I'm allergic to, but I don't know if they would be able to identify for me if it is all Aspergillus (mold), Aspergillus niger (used to make commercial citric acid), and/or Aspergillus oryzae (also Koji in Japanese, used for fermenting miso, soy sauce, and sake at least) that makes me feel so very, very ill in addition to the dairy, wheat, yeast... etc. Even last night we had 'gluten free' corn chips with homemade hummus but the chips were still a different brand than we normally get. Checked all the ingredients and seemed perfectly safe. I spent most of my day feeling painfully queasy and now I've got another infection flaring up in my ear. All I know is I'm sensitive enough to cross-contamination of some sort, or something they use somehow doesn't need to be recorded on the label because it falls below the government regulation. So what would the doctors do? Tell me not to eat the foods that make me sick. It's not really their 'problem.'

 

Raven and I saw this when he was diagnosed with his sun allergy. "Oh, you have a sun allergy! Just use sunscreen." Well, isn't that a bit obvious? I wanted to ask him what happens when it gets to the point where even being under lights indoors causes a reaction? Why do you not mention the fact that for some people it is a progressive allergy? Not everyone can 'harden' their skin in the spring to build up an immunity to minimize the reaction later in the year. Some of us it just means that more exposure = worse reactions. Or what it's like to have to completely cover any windows in your house in any window that isn't south facing just to have a 'safe' place where you don't have to be coated in sunscreen while wearing a long sleeve turtleneck in August. Or that they will never, ever be able to swim out in a lake or ocean again for the rest of their life because the reflection on the water makes it twice as bad? I know doctors are good at what they do and have years of training, but there are some areas I just don't trust their knowledge over my hard learned experience.

 

Everyday is still a challenge. I was one of those kids who hated vegetables and loved having cheap bologna sandwiches on equally cheap white bread for lunch for a significant portion of my youth. I still find vegetables challenging, especially when they should be making up the majority of my diet. I could eat a lot of gluten-free rice/starch based pasta, cooked rice, quinoa, millet, or other 'bread analogs' (sorry, couldn't resist) but gaining weight is something I really shouldn't be doing if I want a longer life. Much of the time anymore I eat because I have to. Food is such a huge part of life but it is so very strange to be slammed into the realization of how much I don't know what to even do with it when I'm essentially restricted to a diet very similar to a raw vegan (except I use eggs, dry beans, & the few grains I can eat and I still cook food.) I struggle with the fact that this was not a choice but instead my body forced it on me. I just wish I knew what to eat for breakfast. All these months in and I still can't figure it out. Still can't decide if skipping it is a good solution or not. Attempting to do a garden is one of the few ways I'm hoping I can fight back against my life getting more and more constrained. If my citric acid allergy gets worse enough to the point where natural citric acid affects me, I don't think I'd have a choice about the doctor then. If it hits a point where my nutritional needs are compromised, for me that's clearly when I need outside help.

 

I hope this wasn't to depressing. Sometimes I just need to vent to clear my head. I'm really happy for all of the excitement with the garden project. I'm definitely going to be testing my limits but I can't wait to see the DD in a much larger space when it isn't covered in snow. I'm sure it won't take Rainie long to turn the yard into an obstacle course or a Pokemon park.

 

~Sister Kyoya

Vent away, I've got a empathetic ear. My 1st wife had some really rare disease and spent most of her late teens and adulthood trying to find a doctor that would actually treat her instead of just pump her with the really nasty steroids that happened to help the one patient that it helped and had some medical paper written on it. We had found something that really helped her a ton, but due to the cost, and it not being normally associated with this disease, insurance wouldn't pay for it, so we were screwed. But in the end, cancer got her, so she is in a better place and no longer suffering, but it was really hard on our son to see his mom suffer and die from cancer. Since then I myself haven't been too fond of going to doctors myself either. Insurance really is next to useless as it'll only pay for the norm, and us exceptions to the norm can't get the real help we need.

 

Anywho, off my soap box now, this thread is for your soap boxing.

 

As for gardening, it's been proven good for you. The little microbes in the dirt have been shown to improve one's mood. My mother-in-law is always 'playing' in the dirt, and she's got one of best personalities I know (Remarrying has it perks. She also supports my DD hobby!). And I can't wait to see your DD sized harvest.

Rainie really is hyper huh? It's adorable. She and Tara would get along but I feel like everyone else would get exhausted pretty fast. lol

 

I'm sorry to hear about the allergy and depression issues. I think it would be worth talking to a doctor about even now before it gets to the point you talked about earlier, but I understand being hesitant. There's sadly quite a few who just don't care enough, and then there's insurance. I could rant about that forever but that would get into heavy levels of politics so meh, not gonna go there. I still think the garden is a great idea! It sounds like it will help for both issues. If you ever want to talk in general I'll gladly listen.