Hey, Hey, It's Moving Day!! ... For the Tomatoes that is

Yesterday afternoon I had a meeting at Community Action. When I got home this is what I found on the patio.




This year the make shift greenhouse is about three times bigger than it was last year, the reason, we have twice as many plants, and those plants are about twice as tall as they should be.



In spite of the size of it, I think it is going to be a tight fit to get 217 plants under that shelter, but for Rich where there is a will there is a way.

He builds the greenhouse using a porch swing frame, clear plastic, and concrete slabs and blocks.



150 years ago the land our house sits on was an orchard, and the house to the south of ours was the original farm house.

When they bulldozed in the apple trees, the owners of the property used fill from excavation sites to level the ground.



Since moving here in 2002, I think Rich has dug up enough concrete to line a nice sized driveway!!

Last year our neighbors to the north of us took a bunch of it off our hands to use as stepping stones between their house and garage, and there was still enough for Rich to use to weigh down the edges of the plastic.

So, anyway, today is moving day. I hope he's not being too optimistic about the weather. It would be bad to have those plants get too cold. However, he says that we can roll one of the electric heaters inside there and warm it up if we need to. Let's hope we don't need to.





Moving the plants of course means that we'll be able to get the bedrooms back in order. Right now the futon is unfolded and in the middle of the bed room with the mattress pulled off and stored away. If you look at the background of the pictures you can see that this bedroom is the one we call the "racing room". It has all of our racing stuff in there. We have primarily Dale Senior and Dale Junior, but I have managed to sneak some Tony Stewart and Mikey Waltrip in there too!



So, out they go through the garage and onto the patio, then into their new house!!



Hopefully, they will settle in nicely and start their "hardening" process.

Bad Tomatoes, Bad Bad Tomatoes!!!

When are tomatoes bad??? When they grow too fast!!!

Apparently Rich's Green thumb has gotten an extra boost over the winter, because these tomato plants are going crazy this year!!!

Let's review:

Posted March 2, 2009

Posted March 24, 2009

Taken Monday, April 6, 2009

The plants are growing fast and healthy. They are nice a bushy, and I'm sure that they are anxious to get outside in the sunshine, but it is just still too cold for that.


Generally they don't grow this fast, and Rich is not all that happy with them for getting big enough that he had to re-pot them again.


Oh well, I guess you either have a green thumb or you don't, and he certainly does!

Mindy post 8

I talked to mom just a few minutes ago and Mindy is getting the epidural right now, then will be released to go home.

Dr. Imburgia told Mindy earlier today that the MRI showed a bulging disc, and that he expected that the pain specialist would give her some very speicific excercies to do to put things back in order in the back.

So, she should get home this evening, and I'm sure she'll post again as soon as she feels like it.

If the epidural works as quickly as folks seem to think it will, she'll be feeling pretty good in no time at all.

N

Mindy post 7

Well I talked to Mindy a little past nine this morning.

She thinks she is doing better, and is looking forward to meeting this pain specialist sometime today.

She's still hoping to come home later this evening, and has all intentions of being at the cantata tomorrow night! If she says she will, I'm sure she will!!

Mom stayed at home today and is doing other things, but plans on meeting Mindy and Andrew at their house when Min gets released.

Mindy says that she is confident that the colonoscopy will come later down the road, although she really believes that she has irritated her inerds taking the Aleve.

That's about it for now.

I'll post again if I get any news.

Mindy post 6

Good Morning to all!

Just in case you've been checking my blog instead of Mindy's, she added a couple of posts last night.

I think she's got everything figured out, and it sounds like she's satisfied with the direction things are going for the moment.

I really hadn't given much thought to the Aleve and the Ibuprofen, which by the way as I understand it can be hard on the kidneys as well, but it makes sense to me.

When you read it, take note, she has all intentions of being home and at the canata Friday night.

When I hear from her again, I'll be sure to post.

N

mindy post 5 -- some tense moments

Well I have to tell you, I have spent the last half hour experiencing more anger and frustration than I have in a very long while.

Mom called at about 1:30 and said that they were releasing Mindy!!!!!!!

Dr Ambrosia had been in and said they couldn't really find anything wrong with her, so they were going to give her an epidural and send her home.

Well, mom and Andrew both were very concerned and agrivated by the situation, and finally I guess Ambrosia said that if Mindy wanted an MRI it was up to her. WELL, YES!! we want an MRI duh!!!!!!!!!!

There is something wrong, Mindy doesn't play sick, she doesn't miss work, she doesn't spend days in the hospital just for the freakin fun of it!!!

Mom said she honestly thought Ambrosia was joking when he asked Min if she was ready to go home.

Anyway, the nurse came in after Ambrosia left, and Mindy told her she was supposed to go home. Well, the nurse was shocked, and tore out of there to see what the doctor had written on Min's chart.

That pretty well ended that conversation with mom, and I was sitting at the kitchen table in shock over this latest turn of events, when 10 minutes later mom called back and said that Mindy is not going home, at least not today.

The nurse, and I don't know what real part she played in this, but I suspect she did something, had been back in, and said that Mindy HAD to have an MRI before she could have the epidural, and that is going to happen yet today. Next, probably tomorrow, she will meet with a Pain Managment Specialist, and THEN it will be determined if an epidural is the proper course of action.

Mom says that the epidural will solve the pain in the back, but that it is unknown how long it will last. They can keep a patient pain free for a few hours, days, or even months.

So, it has been a very tense little while that we've gone through here, and I am still mad beyond belief. I think Dr. Ambrosia must be nuts or just plain stupid, but whatever!!

If Dr. Boy-aaa-jen were to come in and say that Mindy was okay, I guess I would believe him, but to tell the truth, he is the one who saw the problem in the back to start with, and I suspect he knows more about it than Ambrosia does!

And, I asked mom what room Mindy is in and can't for the life of me remember for sure what she said, (memory is a victim to anger I believe), I'm thinking it may have been room 310, but I'm no longer sure.

Anyway, that is all we know for now. I am hoping that the pain specialist is more concerned about Mindy's condition than her doctor, and I feel bad for Becky because Becky KNOWS Mindy very well, and she KNOWS something is wrong.

Please keep praying that whatever this is will be recognized and fixed.

Later
N

Mindy post 4

Well, I just got off the phone with Mindy. It was good to hear her voice, and she does sound a little better than the last time I talked to her.

She says that the pain meds are helping some, but that she is having electric spasms in her back. She said that those started after her visit from Dr. Boy-aaa-jen yesterday when he made her pull her knee up to her chest as far as she could.

Becky stopped in to check on her, and Mindy thinks that what Becky would like to see them do is give her an epidural and proceed with the colonoscopy.

However, Mindy said she was thinking that perhaps they would start therapy on the back problem today, but no one has said so for certain yet.

So, I guess to sum it up, things are still kind of up in the air. Mindy says there is no way they can do the colonoscopy today because she hasn't had the laxative prep, so if they do go Becky's way it will still be at least tomorrow.

Min also said that they are doing a 24 hour urine, to see what is going on in the kidneys, if anything.

Personally, I think that is a precaution, and a darn good one at that. With 18 years of experience with kidney problems on Rich, I know that everything effects the kidneys, and they can get in bad shape quickly, so Kudos to the doctors for staying on top of it.

For the time being, I'm not going to go down there. Rich and I were planning a trip down over the Easter weekend anyway, and we will still do that, so unless one of the doctors decides that Mindy needs surgery of some kind, we'll hold off on going until the weekend.

And, just for giggles and grins....how do you know when Mindy is feeling better??? She talks about work!!!

Yes, that's right, she and I have always been able to share about the Community Action saga's. Even though I am no longer with an agency, I follow them closely, and she can tell me what is going on, and know that I understand it all.

So, she spent about half of her time on the phone with me, talking about work.

For me personally, that was very reassuring!!!!!!

Mindy post # 3

Mom called me about 5:30.

The catscan was done around three.

Twenty five years ago my mom had a surgeon who literally saved her life, he is the one that is looking out for Min now.

The only info I have at the moment, is that dcotor says that while there is something wrong in the bowel or intestine, the far worse problem is in her back.

They are bringing in an orthopedic back surgeon to look at the situation and see what needs to be done. Mom didn't know for sure how bad it is, whether it is something that can be resolved with therapy or if it might require surgery.

The doctor who saw her today, I could not even begin to spell his name but it sounds like boy-aaa-jen. He's very good at what he does, and I'm confident he'll look out for Min's best interest.

Mom is hoping that Min will get something to help her sleep tonight. As it stands now, she and Andrew are both going home tonight, and will go back to the hospital first thing in the morning.

I'll post again, as soon as I hear anything.

About Mindy

I heard from mom around 12:30. Mindy was in a room and had received one pain killer shot, but mom said it didn't do that much to help her.

They were waiting for a cat scan, and said that they would know more then.

Mom thought the catscan would be any minute, but had no idea how long it would be before they heard anything.

If I hear anymore tonight, I'll be sure to get it posted.

Mindy, Mindy, Mindy

Okay, so here's the deal. There are times when being 125 mile away from family is just almost more than I can bear.

Today is one of those days.

My little sis is sick, and I'm not there.

For those of you who follow Mindy's blog, if you see this and read it, I want you to know that she is on her way to the hospital even as I write this.

There will hopefully be a colonoscopy scheduled for tomorrow, and in the meantime, she will get some much needed pain medication.

For the moment, I am not going down there, but will be in touch with my mom to see how things are going.

There is a fair possibility that the problem can be resolved during the colonoscopy tomorrow, but if not, and she should require surgery of some kind, I will go then.

So in the meantime, mom will keep me posted as to what is going on, and I will do my best to add info as it becomes available.

We are all very concerned, and somewhat frightened. So please, pray for Mindy, and pray for my mom, Andrew and Robert, as they all need God's calm assurance right now.