As I have to spend a lot of time lying down to keep my “surgery” leg from swelling down to the foot, I’ve been reading a bunch of old BHM magazines. I have the anthologies, but the magazines are easier for me to handle in bed. I was tickled to see a photo on the front cover of one, of David and his pet wether, Orio. David looked so young! Now he’s nearly six feet tall and a bearded, hefty guy, not the cute kid in the photo. Aww, sweet memories those magazines brought back.

Isn’t this a cute photo?

We’ve been busier than heck, packing and sending out seed packets to folks all across the country. It’s such fun helping people plant their gardens this year. Of course, some are stocking up their seed banks, to be held in the freezer, for future need. A good idea! Already, some seed companies are running out of seeds. That’s an indication of how folks are getting concerned about their food supply as stores constantly are running out of this and that. Our chickens are just now starting to lay. Will got one egg yesterday and we’re so tickled, after a winter of them being on vacation.

Our friends, Mike (way in the back), Dara, and Sheri are helping pack seeds for shipment.

The bed rusted out of our 1999 Ford 3/4 ton pickup. I mean, it bounced up on every bump in the road! You couldn’t walk in the bed, for fear of falling through. So, Will decided to make a flatbed for it. He used the tractor to pick up the junk bed off the truck. Then he and Mike went over to David’s cabin to see about harvesting some 2x8s off of one of the big pallets we’d brought home from David’s work. The first one they turned over was exactly the same size Will needed to make a flatbed! They hauled it home. For two days, Will painted it with used motor oil, which preserves the wood from rot. Now, it’s had two coats. He wants to replace the worn-out shock absorbers while the bed is off. Today, he bought them. Soon, the truck will sport a nifty, homemade flatbed. Total cost? About $6 for gas to go get the pallets. Not bad.

Will working on his free flatbed for the truck.

My knee continues to heal, although I still have quite a bit of pain in the leg, especially if I don’t lie down every half hour or so. But I’m off the cane, for the most part, and getting around nicely. Hooray! — Jackie

30 COMMENTS

  1. wOW how time flies! istarted following you and your great advice! about this time. He defintly is matured! thank you
    sure hope this finds you NOT overdoing it and recuperating well. my onion, asparagus, lettuce, artichokes are up! and fingers crossed, Lord willing, doing well in green house.
    thnk you Jackie for all you share an do for us all.
    lord be with you and yours

  2. So glad to hear your on the mend.That picture of David and Oreo took me down memorie lane of montana.

  3. If this is the wrong place to ask this, please forgive me.
    I keep seeing that Jackie has seeds and a catalog of seeds that they sell. But I cannot find an address to send to for a catalog.
    Would someone please email Beau at me123b456@gmail.com with that address? Thankyou.

  4. Glad to hear you are gradually doing better. I gave my step daughter Sarah Hammond, your address to order seeds as she wants seeds that are home grown and organic.

  5. Just talking to one friend that had not had a garden in two years. She said she is this year. I hope to put up double what I usually can, especially snaps and collards greens.

    I had an old Jeep that the floor rusted through, so old could not find parts for it. I had a black snake that liked to live in Jeep. When I went anywhere I would bang and make a lot of noise in case snake was in Jeep. Did not want to be driving down road and be surprised. I finally gave Jeep to a local church that wanted it, don’t know what they did with it.
    Glad you are healing good, the older we get the longer it takes.

    • I hope the snake wasn’t in the Jeep when the church got it! Now that would be a surprise to someone, not expecting a companion.

  6. You guys are so smart in repurposing things. I am sure the new truck bed will be better than the old in the long run. It is also good to hear of your improvement. My Granddad always said, it it hurts, at least you know you’re still alive! LOL It might be a good thing to stockpile everything, not just the seeds. I found out at the doctor’s office today, that they were told by the local pharmacies that there is a world wide shortage of diabetic meds. She said patients are having to wait while the pharmacies are getting the meds in stock. That’s not a good feeling and especially if you are completely out and need that medication. I don’t know how folks will deal with this problem or if there is anything they can do. Hopefully, it won’t be long-term; but you never know during these trying times. Maybe consult a holistic doctor for home grown meds?

    • I wouldn’t doubt that we’ll be seeing shortages, long-term and short, in the future. We try to slowly stock up on our prescription meds by ordering a few days early. Over the years, it slowly accumulates. We just use the oldest ones first and keep rotating them in order.

      My judo teacher used to tell us that pain was just weakness leaving the body. Gee, I was weaker than I guessed!

  7. Recovery from knee replacement is not generally fast. It took my wife several months. I’m sure you’re eager to get outside. Funny, my chickens took a winter break and are now just beginning to lay eggs again. We have another 6-7 inches of snow predicted for Thursday. Winter isn’t over yet. Come on Spring!

    • I agree! I’m totally ready for seeing DIRT. Our hens, also, are slowly getting into the egg-laying mode.

  8. We have you in our prayers. At our age, it’s hard to accept that we just don’t spring back like we use to. The old saying, slow and steady, is a good thing to remember. Keep at it, we love hearing from you! And yes, David is precious in that picture….they just grow up too fast. But thank goodness for the new family members that come with their growing up.

  9. I love reading my back issues. I picked up my first issue in 2009. I read your blog and I was hooked. Everything know about canning I learned from you. I still do a lot of canning each year.

      • I can a lot of milk but quit canning cakes and quick breads as they were deemed unsafe for canning. I did it for years but decided I could whip up one in minutes so why take the chance.

  10. It sure is a long slow process recovering from this surgery! You are about 2 weeks ahead of me. I get to go for my 6 week appointment on Friday and I am hoping that I get to take the compression stocking off. I’m convinced that it is restricting me in my movement and doing my excercises, not to mention it waking me up during the night when it is digging into me. It was heaven when I got to take the splint off at the 4 week mark. I managed to get my 130degree bend at 41/2 weeks, the goal was 6 weeks, so that was a bright moment,lol. I don’t use my cane anymore either, but I don’t go anywhere other than physio. We had a great (at the time) idea to go for a little walk at the mall last week. I started off using my cane, then hubby got me a shopping cart, which I couldn’t take into the mall. Then he got me a walker from customer service. We didn’t go far and had a sit down for a rest. Coming back I got about half way and then he had to get me a wheelchair. The pain was unbelievable. I was really disappointed that I did so poorly. The physiotherapist said to me that I have to remember that this is a brand new knee and everything is a new learning experience for it, and no walking more than 10 minutes. Lesson learnt. We’ll get there, slowly but surely. Take care.

    • You’re really ahead of me, Janice! I’m only to 120 degrees. I got rid of the cane but don’t walk far. I haven’t gone shopping at all. I know I would be in a world of hurt if I did. Like my therapist said, our whole leg has to get used to revamping circulation, muscle and ligaments. And it isn’t up to marathon walking. Hang in there. Spring is coming!

  11. I was just about to read issue Mar/Apr 2012 when I read your blog ? I hope your knee gets better fast!

  12. Praying for continued healing of your knee. It takes time for knee surgery to heal. Take care and don’t over do it.

    Take care,
    Dorothy

    • Yeah, over=doing seems to be my downfall. I sit down to do something, then two hours pass and even icing the knee doesn’t help. It seems like I would get smart sometime…..

  13. Just sent my seed order yesterday. It’s double what I ordered last year, which was a surprise to me- but I know it’s a good idea to have it all. But plans for the garden and production have changed, and I want to have more food available. My husband just shook his head when I told him the total and we sent it off. After last years garden success he has faith in my craziness.

    I’m glad your knee is doing better. Mine still hurts and it’s been over a year since surgery, so I will keep praying for your healing.

    I’ve been milking my dairy cow and have run into a block of what to make with the milk. I get about a gallon a day as we calf share, and I’m just not sure how to use it all!

    Anyways, happy (almost) spring!

    • Do you know someone who raises pigs or chickens? They will drink milk.
      Not sure if a local food pantry will accept raw milk.
      Think you could freeze milk, against the time when your cow is dry.
      Butter is easy to make and will freeze well, too.
      Of course there’s always cheese and yogurt and ice cream!

      • I have been feeding the excess to my pigs and chickens by soaking their grain first! And I’ve made ice cream, cheese and whipped cream! Butter I’m holding off as I don’t want to waste my heavy cream – I would rather cook special foods and make ice cream ?.

        • I just love making various types of cheeses, from fresh cheese that you use like cream cheese, to mozzarella and much more. Then there are smoothies, yogurt, ice cream, puddings, custards and of course, butter. Remember you can freeze most dairy products.

Comments are closed.