T. Woolf

The old page is too busy In My Not So Humble Opinion. The newer page is cleaner, and less "sales-y". It feels more professional and less like you're desperate for money. (The sharks smell blood...🦈)

Anyway, just my opinion. Your mileage may vary. 👍

Rebekah Harmon wrote:Hello, Permies!!

It's harvest season 🤩 anyone ever watched all the abundance pile up and think WOW! This is a lot of food!

Could I eat ONLY what I produce, forage or trade? 🤔   What if I ate like Gert, the permaculture millionaire, with no grocery store? How long could I do it? A day? A week? How long could you do it?

How about a whole month!? Join me this October. Show me meals you eat that are ALL THE WAY LOCAL. I'll post every day to show off the bounty thats all around me.

Well, today we had bacon, potatoes, peppers, and dragon's tongue beans, all from local farmers. The herbs (parsley, oregano, sage, and thyme) were from my garden. The garlic and olive oil weren't local. I honestly don't think I could survive with all local food, but I try my best to buy local when I can. I started with hydroponics, so I should be able to grow more food now.

Robert Ray wrote:Those poltergeist jabs come out of nowhere. Gaining more flexibility. I would have to say this time around the connection points are a bit more painful.

Ah yes, that's a good term for them too! Poltergeist jabs and invisible ninja garden gnomes with knives. Yep, I swear I've met them both.

Susan Mené wrote:
    I quoted your whole post because I related to it completely.  Having stellar days that feel like 5 steps forward and turning a corner, then falling back 4 steps by evening.  Both knees hurting-check!  Here's one: Both feet and ankles hurting, deep intense aching.  What the heck with that?
    I believe now that there is an invisible garden gnome that leaps out like a ninja in the middle of the night to stab my surgery leg in random places, waits till I fall back to sleep, and repeat.  A few of those nights I caved to a low dose narcotic.  Still can't shake the morning-after feeling that when I use them it's a failure, but when it's happing the pain is crazy so it surely doesn't matter then!
    Gratitude, pain, progress, stagnation. relief, pride, joy, depression--looks like life!.  Hang in there, you are doing just fine.  You are not failing or falling short.  This is brutal.  
     You have helped me!  Thank you!

Today is better. I was in a fair amount of pain yesterday (Sunday) the next day after the farmer's market. Saw my physical therapist today (Monday--a scheduled meeting) and I have to admit that I've been in a lot less pain today. My physical therapist says he isn't worried that I have one bad day after doing something like the amount of walking I did. He says he's more worried if my leg swells up like a grapefruit and I'm in pain for 4-5 days. 24 to 48 hours, he's not as concerned as long as my swelling and pain goes down. So, that's the way it's going, huh? Lovely. But not unexpected, really.

I chuckled about the invisible garden gnome because he visits me too. Usually when my muscles are too tight. My hips and ankles complain a lot too, but I think that's just the damage combined with using them properly again.

Oh, and I don't think it's a failing to use a low-dose narcotic. I've used them when I had really awful days or couldn't sleep. I didn't use one yesterday, but I'm rationing in case I get huge pain and stiffness I can't handle. But so far, so good. I slept just fine without them. Hang in there! If you have a lot of pain that lasts more than a day, I'd recommend contacting your doctor, surgeon, or physical therapist to make sure this is normal. Can't hurt to be sure.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and anything I say is utterly trash, so don't take my advice on anything, really. Especially when it comes to medical advice. These are just my own experiences. Your mileage may vary.

Burning plastic is nasty. I remember living next to a neighbor who burned plastic in her woodstove (yeah, not a RMH) and it was awful. Made my eyes burn inside my home. I'm pretty sure it was toxic as heck. Even with a RMH, I can't help but wonder how much pollution would spill out.

Welp, today I am in pain. Both knees hurt--not just the knee replacement one. Why? Because yesterday I went to the farmer's market and did my shopping. Yes, I brought my hiking stick and I dragged around a wagon for my purchases. It felt great to walk the entire length. Until today.

I'm stiff and sore. My knees are protesting with occasional sharp stabs because they hate me. It reminded me how much I need to build my endurance back up. I've been avoiding the serious pain killers and sticking with acetaminophen and Celebrex, because I really don't want to go back to opioids and muscle relaxants. So, I'm just going to have to deal with it tonight and try not to overexert myself too much.

The other knee isn't in great shape, but it's in a lot better shape than the replacement knee was before the operation. Still haven't been able to do my stationary bike yet even though I can use the physical therapy bikes just fine. I need to walk more, but not today. Tomorrow is physical therapy and no doubt my therapist will tell me to be patient.

It's only been two and a half months since the surgery. This is a two year process. I must remind myself of that.  

Time is worth whatever you're paid for to use it.

When I was a software engineer and systems administrator, that time was exceedingly valuable (at the time 😉). It didn't matter if I was chatting with my coworkers, taking a long lunch, or working on a specific problem. The amount of money paid was the same. Yes, they paid me for my expertise, but in the end, they were paying me for 40+ hours a week. How I used it was my own choice (and to a certain degree, theirs). I was paid to get the work done. How I did it and what time it took was my own judgment.  I didn't clock out to use the bathroom and no one expected me to. In fact, the businesses didn't have timestamps, so everything was more or less an honor system.

That being said, when I did AI training for a bit, they paid me a LOT less and they had software that kept tabs on me. So, again, they paid me for my time doing something. It didn't require expertise, just a lot of following their rules.

Since one's time is finite, you would expect it to be valuable in some way. After all, there are tons of jobs out there that are looking to pay something for one's time. But, when you work for yourself, the value of time is hidden. Maybe if you considered what it costs to do a particular thing if you paid someone when you do it yourself, you'll figure out how much your time is really worth.

And yeah, I slack too, but hey, that's my choice and it's priceless.

Susan Mené wrote:
   It sounds like we are on very similar timetables! 2 weeks out I'm 95% cane, 1% walker, 4% walking around unaided while  occasionally holding on to walls.
   Yesterday was a big day.  My German Shepherd has been so patient, basically limited to our yard, woods and neighborhood, and yesterday my husband and son took me and my pup to one of our favorite town parks nearby. There's a spot where there's a huge grassy hill and meadow, and we can park right there.  They threw balls for the dog, and I, using my cane, went down the hill (zig-zagging to reduce stress on the knee), checked on an autumn olive tree that is loaded with berries for foraging, went back up the hill.  Walked a teeny part of one of the trails and back to the car. I felt wonderful watching the dog run and just being in a favorite spot of the favorite little 152 acre park the pup and I know so well (We explore everything, not just the trails).  
   This morning I made a decision to up my anti-inflammatory (celebrex) to 200 mg in the morning and what a difference! Max dosage per day is 400mg, so I will be within normal range.  Have my 2-week fllow up later today, so will talk to them about it.

Good for you! Today was the first day I walked down to the barn and back up in years. Progress! Talk with your doctor about upping the meds.

I occasionally nap. I do it more since I had my knee replacement and I consider it important for healing. But, I don't nap regularly.

Jim Fry wrote:I had posted to this discussion 2 years ago. Back then I wrote I had nine children. UPDATE! Now we have 10. Hooray!

We have a multi-generation farm (we've been here a long time. Back to before Ohio was a state.). At times we have had the largest organic produce gardens in N. Ohio. Now we have Dairy. There are a lot of people picking up here all day long. We also run a Farm School/homeschool here year around. Up to 40 kids at a time. All of them are far ahead of their public-school contemporaries. We also teach quite a number of heritage skills classes. ~~The point of all of this is (first and foremost having a new baby) is that for us, the solution to our interesting times, is to have and raise the great next generation. -Who will seek and find the solutions to our, and the world's, various interesting questions. ~~HAVE BABIES. They are the solution, and reason for, the future!

I really have to wonder about the health of a woman who has 10 children. And honestly, I couldn't imagine having children because of the stress, cost, and time commitment. It's great if you find a woman whose values are the same as yours, but many women would have a hard time dealing with more than one or two children, let alone ten. And childbirth is no picnic. I've known a lot of women who have had serious health issues and complications.  

Women have sought and found solutions to various problems as much as men have done. It's tough to do that when having ten or more children.

Just some thoughts. Not looking to rile up anyone. ✌️☮️✌️