Happenings

Posted on March 27, 2013 by curtis

Well since I really haven’t written anything here in two months you’ve missed out on a lot of stuff. Too bad I’m not really going to catch you up. Well, maybe a little.

Way back towards the end of last year and the early parts of this year, my wife had another bout of optic neuritis and temporarily lost vision in one of her eyes. This led to MRI’s and steroid shots and a partial diagnosis of her possibly having multiple sclerosis. This led to a visit with a neurologist and more MRI’s and a spinal tap. With the neuro doc not coming up with any real, my wife decided to do her own research and for some reason decided to cut gluten out of her diet. She had read reports of gluten being a cause of lots of medical conditions. I piped up and told her to quit drinking her diet sodas. For as long as I can remember she always drank diet soda. I’m not to knowledgeable on aspartame, but have heard mix reviews of it. Literally, overnight she quit both sodas and gluten and has been free of them since January. This has literally flipped the kitchen in a 180 degree direction.

I’ve been on a soap box for the past several years with her about food. What’s in it? Where it comes from? I talk to her about the use of genetically modified organisms in our food or, how far that fruit traveled to get to the grocery store. Before, I just got a nod and she went on about her business. I think the switch finally turned on in her head.

Its the food that is slowly killing us. Whether that’s how it was grown, or the pesticide that was sprayed on it, or the laboratories that changed the genetic makeup of a plant, or the living conditions of the animal that caused it to not be healthy when slaughtered.

I started a garden in my backyard some 5 or 6 years ago when I really started learning about GMO’s and food transit and all the other green mumbo jumbo. For some people, that “idea” is already gone. For me, it’s just beginning. I wanted to know what a true tomato tasted like. I never liked tomatoes from the store or in restaurants. The garden started small and Stephanie complained when I made it bigger and bigger. Now? She wants me to rip up the boxwood shrubs in the front and plant blueberry bushes. She has been educating herself. I think.

There are no breakfast cereals on top of the fridge with cartoon characters on them. The boxed ‘helper’ dinners are gone. The inside of the fridge is chock full of fresh organic. Stephanie is actually in the garden helping and tending to things. I nearly passed out when she asked me is she could plant something. I’ve even got her convinced that composting is good and she’s saving food scraps to put in it.

Really, its about knowing where everything came from. Those corn chips you eat at the Mexican food joint down the road? There is high probability they contain GMO’s and pesticides. Unfortunately, there isn’t anywhere you can go that serves food that you should really be eating.

Stephanie has now started making a menu with the weeks scheduled dinners. Having things planned is great way to keep up with whats in the fridge.

Well, I totally went off there didn’t I? Sorry.

Anyways, things in the garden are going great. Well, almost great. We had yet another freak cold spell for the second year and I’ve lost all my tomatoes again. At least this year I was on the ball and had them covered all weekend. It was Sunday nights dip into the 20′s that really did them in. I had only transplanted a few pepper plants, so not all is lost on that front. The wheat (that Stephanie can’t eat) is growing really fast. We are cutting lettuce daily now, and some spinach. The chard is still small. You can’t walk into the garden without smelling all the flowers blooming on the mandarin tree. Just lovely.

I’m this close to building a small a-frame type chicken tractor and putting a couple hens inside.

I’m over at Sprout today. Talking about a recent trip to a family farm in Keller.

Goodbye Isabelle

Posted on January 12, 2013 by curtis

We brought you home after midnight around Valentine’s Day 2002. You were born the day after Christmas 2001. I’m pretty sure where we got you was a puppy mill, but I really didn’t know what those were 11 years ago. I had picked out your name before we even had you. Isabelle. Izzy for short. Since you were a Christmas baby I gave you the middle name Noel. Dad really wasn’t up for having a new dog in house but he saw the sparkle in your eye and loved you anyway.

In the beginning you were my dog. You slept in bed with me. We took you camping with us and you were a good camping dog. You loved chasing balls. Tennis balls. Big soccer balls. You didn’t care. You kept Stephanie and I company sometimes when we went geocaching. I would take you over play with Dottie, Patch and Rocky when Stephanie still lived with her parents. I took you over a lot. You played until you were completely worn out. You were my car riding buddy.

Eventually you became the family dog, giving love to everyone that needed it. When I went to work work at Philmont, you kept mom company while I was gone those summers. You gave her something do. You took care of me when I broke my ankle. When the time came for me to finally move out of the house I wanted to bring you with me, but mom needed you more. So I left you to be her buddy and companion. You greeted me every time I came by to visit. You were even good to Zoe and Grayson.

You eventually started to succumb to being old. Your joints started to give out and then you lost your eyesight. The past several months seeing you lose weight and not eat was tough. I’m glad you made it to see your 11th birthday a few weeks ago, so we could spend one last Christmas together.
Saying goodbye to you is going to be hard. You were a great friend, Isabelle. I love you.

The year in review

Posted on December 31, 2012 by curtis

As the year winds down its nice to take a look back at the last 365 days and reflect on things past. Some were good things, some not so good. There were happy moments and sad moments.

We were goofy

There were new kitties

We redid the bathroom floor

We hung out

I put the girls to work

I started a load of tomatoes from seed

We put makeup on

We installed new floor

I started a joint blog venture. Sprout!

Discovered a ladybug colony

Did some hiking

Played in the garden

Zoe discovered Star Wars

Aunt T came for a visit

We enjoyed some baseball

Discovered the greatness of compost

She discovered a magic wand

We visited the park

Baseball was watched on the tv

We went to the zoo

I was a caddy for my dad

We harvested

And harvested

We watched fireworks

She caught her first fish

And harvested

And preserved

And harvested

We said goodbye to an old friend

We said goodbye…even if they are just a few hours down the road

We went on a journey together

And had fun

Loads of fun

Tons of fun

He discovered sargassum

She played dress up

We shelled beans

I visited some bison

We splashed

She celebrated another year older

We enjoyed most of the great game

I visited my grandfathers old church

I killed a mouse

He celebrated first 365

Dad learned about PUSS

We went on another journey together

And had fun

Loads of fun

A Turkey of fun

Memories of fun

Enjoyed a game on company tickets

Enjoyed the park

Made Grayson a hat

Celebrated Christmas

Enjoyed a white Christmas

Two years in my car.

Posted on November 11, 2012 by curtis

Way back in January of 2010 when Ashleigh was just born, the nurses told us to bring a disposable camera to the NICU so they could take pictures of her when we weren’t there. The camera was full around March or so of that year. I took it home with me and it sat in my car for over 2 years until last week. I really didn’t want to get it developed but figured it was time to see what was on there.

I was rather disappointed with the turnout. Most were blurry and not really worth posting on here but I was able to pick out 4 that would be okay.

Playing Catch Up. Or Something.

Posted on September 18, 2012 by curtis

Way back in during the summer I took a break from this here blog. I figured I’d step away for a week or two since I was up to here in the garden (can you see my hand up above my head?) and it was also prime playing out in the yard time for the kids. Those few weeks have turned into several months now. I made one lone post on Grayson’s birthday and every time I come back to write on here I feel the need to write about everything that has happened and then I get frustrated and turn on the television and watch “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives” or “Pawn Stars”.

Eff that. We’ll just say that the garden was great until it got hot and everything got cooked (minus the peppers) and the nut grass took over and is out of control. Zoe turned 4 and her mouth doesn’t stop moving. Grayson turned 1 and has found that his legs can get himself into trouble. We went on vacation to Port Aransas, TX. A few weeks back we went to Ruidoso, NM on yet another vacation.

I might do a write up on that stuff. I might not.

These days? Both the kids are sick. Doctor appointment in the morning. Zoe started preschool last week and is loving it. Apparently her teachers are amazed at her vocabulary. Grayson loves putting the dog food kibble inside of the dog’s water dish, or just shoving it in his mouth. Whichever he can get done quicker without getting caught.

I’ve started doing the major cleanup of the garden. Going inch by inch trying to eradicate the Nut Grass and the rhizomes below. Trying to get some stuff in for winter. I planted multiplier onions probably a month ago and a few have already split. The lettuce is doing pretty good too. I stated carrots and beets the last week of August, but nothing came up. I’ll plant some more this week and see what happens. Took the five heads of garlic and planted the individual cloves this evening. I like to do it on the Autumnal Equinox or the week before, so today seems as good a day as any. Assuming things go right I should had 56 garlic bulbs comes May. This is the first year I actually set aside a few to plant again and didn’t purchase new. Persian Star and Lorz Italian are the two varieties that I’m growing. Best to keep it simple and not grow too many different types. This two types did well last year and both have great flavor with the Lorz Italian having a bit more bite.

The great thing at the big box stores? The gotta move out the old stuff to bring in the seasonal stuff. I picked up six plants in gallon sized pots for $6 today. Two Turk’s Cap, two Plumbago, and two Hot Lip’s Salvia. What’s great about this? They are all perennial and will come back next year. If I were to go to Marshall Grain I could find the same thing there but at full price. Why? Because they know they can still make a profit next year if it doesn’t sell and they don’t have to make room for fall and Christmas seasonal items.

Remember the android tablet I acquired from the wife several months ago? Well Zoe decided to let it fall off the hotel bed on our way back from Ruidoso and the screen cracked. Luckily we had purchased an extended warranty for it. Took it back to Best Buy and was able to get a new one for an even swap. Though, since the iPad 2 is now the same price as the android tablet we were able to just swap for that instead. I’m still getting used to it. I am liking the photo stream portion I can finally take advantage off. Take pictures on my iPhone and they end up on the iPad.

That is all.

Untitled

Posted on April 23, 2012 by curtis

I couldn’t come up with a name for this. Just something I put together. Hope you like it.
Music credit: The Head and the Heart.

Happy Valentines Day

Posted on February 14, 2012 by curtis

To my lovely wife, Stephanie, I love you!

Though we won’t see each other today I will still think about you.

Remember that one time we went to Mineola and spent the night at that bed and breakfast? And it snowed? That was a great Valentines! That seems like forever ago.

Hope you are having fun in Austin! See you Wednesday evening.

Sunday Funday. Slowday. Nothingday.

Posted on August 23, 2010 by curtis

Yesterday was a relaxing end to the weekend, after Saturday’s fiasco of Zoe throwing up in the car after leaving Whole Foods.
“I throw up,” she said.
Needless to say, my car still stinks after cleaning it out last night. That should make for a long day at work today.
We stopped at Bachman Lake on the way home Saturday and watched the “Big” planes land at Love Field, while Ma Goose and the baby ducks swam in the lake.
With Steve and Carol (Steph’s parents) out of town, we made plans to visit another church yesterday. We ended up sleeping in later than we should have. Zoe asked for some chicken. That’s code for chicken nuggets, ranch dressing, and ketchup. What a breakfast. While she indulged herself on 3 nuggets and some tube time with the purple dinosaur, Steph and I sat out back enjoying the morning shade and a few cups of coffee contemplating the plans for the day.

A few things came to mind.
Continue reading →

End of Year Goals

Posted on August 21, 2010 by curtis

By December 31st:

Pass all classes with A’s-
Okay, so if you didn’t know already, I’m officially a student again, taking 10 hours of courses this fall. Eventually, I plan to apply to the Respiratory Therapy program at TCC, and eventually a BSN from UTA. In years past, I didn’t really have the drive to finish college and ended up dropping my classes in 2004 all together. My GPA back then was 1.25. Crap! I’ve got my work cut out for me. To even be considered, I need no less than a B in all my core classes, but it would be best for A’s.

Go camping twice-
I say twice becuase we already have a trip planned for Memorial Day weekend at Dinosaur Valley State Park. Early in the year we had planned on going in April, but with Ashleigh still in the hospital, we cancelled. Then the heat hit and its just to hot in the summer months to go camping.
So really I just gotta plan for another weekend, probably sometime after Thanksgiving.

Learn how to knit-
This may prove to be the most difficult of the three. I can crochet.
When I was young my grandmother taught me the basics and then it got filed far away in my brain. In 2003, my first summer at Philmont, I noticed a lot people crocheting and knitting, so I decided to try my luck at making a beanie. It fit my head. Very snug. I would later pick up a hook every so often, but it was until late 2008 when the growing season of the garden had ended that I became interested again (more of a time filler than anything). I’ve only really made hats. I tried my luck at a produce bag but it gets no use.
So I’m trying my luck at making a lady bug and frog. Crochet, of course. After that I’ll try my luck at knitting. Something simple.

The Ninth Day

Posted on January 30, 2010 by curtis

Today almost felt normal. I was able to pull weeds and turn dirt in a few of the boxes in the garden. I was also able to plant the onions I bought almost two weeks ago. I had put on wool socks, a beanie, gloves, and my rain jacket just to keep warm though. We had a cold front come though yesterday or so and we were in the 40′s today. It feels like winter again.
It also felt half normal as we didn’t make the second trip to the hospital for the day. Stephanie and I just kind of sat on the couch with Zoe and watched a few movies. It felt good to have a bit of normalcy in the house. Though now I feel horrible that I didn’t say goodnight to Ashleigh. This past week we have made a point to go to the hospital twice a day, usually sometime early in the afternoon and then after 8pm. I know that me going up there doesn’t do much good (or does it?), but it just eases my mind knowing she is okay. We have the direct line to the NICU if we wanted to just call and check on her, but doing it in person is much better.
Stephanie and I have both grown to like one of the night nurses, Ashli, and a few of the day nurses. Yesterday we were able to speak to the Neonatologist about the PDA. It got smaller. It’s now 2mm, which is very small, but not good enough. So he started the second round of Indocin treatment. The last dose was given around 8pm tonight. Tomorrow, Ashleigh will begin feedings again. Monday will bring another Echocardiogram to see if the PDA has fully closed. Lets hope it does, as the next step is surgery.
I also found time to crochet a cute little hat for Ashleigh. I’m not sure how long she’ll be able to wear it though. I’m hoping she grows fairly quickly.