Do We Have a Plan?

So, this is my 80 blog post! I think I'm getting into the groove a bit. I suppose a more momentous thing than the number of posts I have is what is on my mind tonight as I write. I'm truly not panicked or even anxious, but I'm wondering if my beloved friends and family are prepared should this swine flu be "the" one we've all been hearing about. I suppose I hear more because of my connections. I lived in Hong Kong when H5N1 broke out. I was there when they slaughtered all the chickens to prevent further spread. I remember watching the Buddhist priests carry huge bags of fish that they'd purchased at the meat markets. They were returning them to the water to help appease the chicken spirits.

Anyway, I also have a friend who is the head of infectious control at our local hospital. She's told me about the plans they've worked on for a couple of years. They even have a plan where to put all of the overflow of the deceased. They anticipate so much death with a pandemic that they will not be able to keep up with burials. Could this be the one? Who knows?! It could fade away tomorrow. Or not.

I'm truly not worried, though. I have a plan and I hope you do, too! I've studied the nature of the 1918 flu that killed 50 million people. It came in three waves. The second wave was the most deadly. The death rate was around 50%. However, my church ran sanitariums at that time and they used excellent nursing care, natural remedies, and prayer. It is my understanding that they lost no one!

Please do not take anything in this post as medical advice. I'm NOT a medical professional. But I'm going to list the plans I've made after talking to doctors, nurses and herbalists. I hope it encourages you to do your own research and make your own plan. If we are prepared, there is no need to panic!

Prevention: face masks, latex gloves, a quarantine plan
Preparedness: enough food for 3 months; plans to obtain water and cook food should utilities be compromised; well stocked on pet food; the Red Cross is recommending that people have a two month supply of their medications on hand.
Treating supplies, should the worst happen:
* Elderberry syrup (elderberry literally weakens the pointed end of viruses that penetrate cell walls, thereby greatly reducing the risk one actually coming down with the illness) I'm told that the Native Americans who took elderberry during the 1918 epidemic did not die.
*Oil of oregano (been proven to kill bird flu in a test tube)
*Fresh garlic
*Supplies for hydrotherapy
*Charcoal (In late stage of some of the flu strains, blood can seep from all orifices of the body. I'm told that packing them with charcoal can help.)
*Plenty of ibuprofen and acetomenaphen for the high fevers and inflammation

Some points to be aware of:
Incubation at this point is 24-48 hours
It attacks most visciously the strong healthy adults. The reason for this is that their immune systems are the strongest and fight the hardest and cause a great deal of inflammation.
As I said, I'm not a medical professional. These are merely bits and pieces I've learned and am using to make a plan.
My great-grandmother was a homesteader in North Dakota during 1918. Her mother homesteaded with her, but also took jobs in town. She wrote to my great-grandmother and told her not to come into town because so many people were dying of the swine flu. They both survived!

I'd love to hear of your plans/research! - Nanette

Pling, Plang, Plung

It has been a busy week 'round these Northern Parts. The beginning of the week was so warm, I was sorely tempted to plant the whole of the garden. Funny thing, when it is warm and beautiful, it seems impossible that a change could come. But change it has! Today we had snow blowing sideways and it was ccccccold out there! But I did take some advantage of the warmth and planted my pea cover crop in part of the garden where I'd run out of rye. I even got the sprinklers going as it had been so dry that the rye hadn't sprouted. Now I'm worried that it will be time to plant before the rye sprouts! I'm sure it will all turn out. My heirloom pepper starts are taking off like crazy! One of my stands for my starts is in my garage and one is in the kitchen. The latter has wheels so I can take it outside on nice days for the sunshine and the breezes that strengthen the stems.

In other news, we got our piano tuned today. Ahhhh! What joy to the ears! Mr. Piano Man was a jolly soul who even laughed like Santa. He showed the kids all about piano tuning and was so informative that I recorded it as a field trip in Laughing Water's home school records.

This evening I had a Mommy's night out. I took myself out to dinner and read a new book about living largely. Then I went to a bookstore and read for awhile. It is amazing how one can unwind when you are uninterrupted! I'm all inspired to live more joyfully and abundantly.

I got home and The Wood Artist was all excited about saving some money. He was going to groom The Mighty Hunting Hound. She was patient, but when he let her go, she headed straight for me and buried her head in embarrassment. I comforted her and told her it will grow! He said he just had to try it so he can feel good about going to the groomer next time! Funny guy! Poor pooch!

Buddy Dates and Predators

Mr. Blueberry Eyes and I went on a Buddy Date today. Uncle #1 was at therapy for his arm, so we had about an hour to spend. We went to our favorite coffee shop and ordered Chai Latte's. He got a Danish. Now you have to understand that our life has been crazy lately. With Uncle convalescing in Mr. Blueberry Eyes' room, the latter has been relegated to the couch. In the end, the poor little guy has not had much in the way of sweet bonding time with Mommy. Tensions have mounted and behavior has gone South. So, I thought a special time was in order. As we sat there, sumptuously sipping, I could see his tension ebbing away. We giggled together. He chided me for letting him eat sugar - all the while grinning from ear to ear. I considered the option of imparting some great wisdom, but in the end, opted to just enjoy the sweetness together. I want to be the kind of mother that imparts wisdom in meaningful ways, but I don't want my children to think that I only give them treats as an opportunity to lecture.
After that we walked along the street, peeping into windows and oohing and ahing over the beautiful things for sale. Sweet memories! Wonderful world sometimes!
The downer of the day came when our landlady came to inform us that there is a predator driving up and down our road trying to coax children into his car by asking them to help him find his dog. Fortunately, we live at the back of a long driveway and know everyone between us and the road. Still, I've shrunk the !kids' boundaries as a precaution. Horrible world, sometimes.
Nanette

Spring Day

Our landlady's chickens and ducks are out today. I love to see them pecking and strutting. It is supposed to be in the 70s today, but right now it is cloudy. I've definitely got spring fever - a little grouchy and a lot restless! I'd rather be anywhere right now than correcting math and reading comprehension, but since my business is tutoring and I've chosen to homeschool my children, I have to be consistent - even if the chickens are running free and my hoop house is calling my name urgently. For me, April and May are the worst months of the school year. Gardenlust is intoxicating.
Lastnight I helped my Dad do his food dehydrating seminar and I shared for an hour about my garden adventures. (A special welcome to all my new garden friends! I'll soon post the recipes you asked for.)
My peppers and tomatoes are growing strong. I don't know why my basil isn't doing well. I think I used some bad potting soil. But, I've heard from two different sources that basil is easily started outside and catches up to the starts, so I will try that this year.
I intended to plant kale and peas a couple of weeks ago,
but life has taken me by storm and it hasn't gotton done. Hopefully today!
I hope your day is lovely. Tell me what your day is going like! - Nanette

As American As Baseball

Mr. Blueberry Eyes started baseball this month. So, it followed quite naturally that he would get a mitt for his birthday. As you can see by the look on his face, it was a home run! While he is well-coordintated and quick, he knew nothing of baseball. Fortunately, he is not the only one on his team in that place, so he is learning the basics. He plays his first game next week.
In other news, this has been a week of mixed blessings and tired eyes. Saturday, I got a call that my brother had been injured at his home about 2 1/2 hours from here. I drove with my parents to

get him and drove back to the E.R. in my town. (It was the closest E.R. that we knew could treat him without air-lifting him out.) We arrived around 11:30 p.m. Fortunately, one of our friends was the doctor there and gave him first class treatment. It turned out to be a dislocated elbow. Very painful, much swelling, massive bruising. The up side is that he is staying with us while he heals. So our busy life has included helping him dress, eat, take his meds, and getting him to therapy. It has been fun for me to mother him a bit. The children are having a wonderful time playing table games with Uncle!

We finished our third birthday party in three weeks. Now Mommy needs to be sent away for recovery! :) Truly, I can't believe my "babies" are 7 and 10 years old!
We've had another cold spell, but today, the sun is breaking out and it is starting to warm. I'm told we can expect 70s by the beginning of next week. TTFN - Nanette

Oops!

I'm sorry about the last seemingly disjointed post. I somehow deleted part of the story and published it without realizing. I've fixed it now. - Nanette

Happy Birthday, Laughing Water, Happy Birthday To You!

It hardly seems possible that that wide-eyed little bundle they put in my arms is 10 years old today. They weren't kidding when they said time flies!
It was Laughing Water's desire to have an old-fashioned tea with her friends. And so it came about that several little lovely ladies arrived in style complete with hoops, shawls, and hats.
They played old-fashioned games, like blind-man's bluff. We hid heart and flower shaped buttons for them to find.
They sat down to a pretty table and took tea and lemonade and little sandwiches and salads. Then they ate chocolate cake.
We closed it all with a pinata. It was just some great old-fashioned fun!
The Wood Artist made Laughing Water a wooden garden bench with her name engraved in it.
We will have Mr. Blueberry Eye's birthday celebration next weekend - with considerably less foofoo! - Nanettte

And the Green Grass Grows All Around

I'm interested in growning wheat and barley for juicing. I've heard so many good things about drinking "green" juice. It is supposed to help all kinds of health issues. A few days ago, I went to a little class on how to plant and grow the grass for the purpose of juicing. Here are the pictures of my first journey into it. It really isn't hard at all. I'm so impressed with the root systems! Too bad I don't have a special grass juicer yet. I don't know what I'll do with this batch. Maybe I'll just hide Easter eggs in it! :)
Really, it is so fresh and cheerful that I think it makes a lovely center piece for a table when one is longing for spring, but it just keeps snowing!

In other news, Mr. Blueberry Eyes had his first baseball practice lastnight. He enjoyed it so much! We had just givin him his new mitt at lunch yesterday, so it was a bit stiff. But he really liked his coach and had fun playing and learning.

We live in an exasperatingly small home and I am constantly trying to redo things to work smoothly. My pet project for this month is my closet. I was delighted to find some bark-stripped baskets in town for 70% off today! I can't wait to re-work it.
It snowed heavily this morning for several hours, but now the sun is gleaming through! I hope we have a spring-like weekend! - Nanette