Almost up to date on these emails I sent myself.
Today it was the older guys and it was HOT. Over 90 degrees F. But they stuck with it. One from our initial ripping out of the azalea wanted to come, but he and another guy did something stupid so I had to have staff pick other residents. Hopefully, this will motivate them to keep their noses clean.
Our weeding was intense today. It has been 2 weeks since we did anything. Our zucchini and watermelon plants are just about eaten by aphids, however, we did clean the leaves with a very mild soap and hopefully that will work or at least give them a fighting chance.
Our lettuce is going gangbusters, but is about to bolt. We mixed some purslane into the leaves. We may have a few more weeks of it. I took out the seeds to replenish the stock, but misplaced them. Our kale is growing and we will plant more of it. The kale should go until we have a snowfall of more than 3 inches.
The beans are flowering and hopefully will produce this week. The delicate yellow flowers out there are the cucumbers. We got three this week and the ones from next week are still waiting for noshing in the kitchen frig.
Our greens filled a large tub with a mixture of purslane, kale, a few carrot greens, broccoli & cauliflower leaves and a massive amount of swiss chard. The swiss chard is the big green leafy plants with magenta, white or yellow stems. The basil is going strong and we will pick that next week. As is the oregano. That is a small plant next to the orange flowers of the butternut squash trellis.
We have some green tomatoes from our cherry tomato plant. That plant is from seed, not from a garden center. We will try and save seeds from it for next year.
Tomato Trellis
We have submitted for one gardening grant and will try for another so that we can expand our garden next year.
Basil and oregano
Please feel free to peruse our plants and smell that fabulous basil and oregano.
Oh, just in case you don’t know, those little lavender flowering bushes in the front of the building are – lavender. Take one of the flowers between your fingers and rub. It will help calm you down on your drive home.
The half hours is getting to me. I don’t get to see the residents except in the hallways or when I breeze through the cafeteria. I don’t remember any new names. Ms. Lawyer Head gives me a cold stare when I say hello. I take that as she doesn’t know what to make of me. I think she thinks I am going to shove some diet down her throat, but doesn’t know what to do when I am just saying and walking down the hallway.
We have no head of nursing and trying to find out info on the new admits is like finding a needle in the haystack. Labs are nowhere. I hope no one falls through the cracks. I ask the residents if they have any significant lab finding, but they all say no. I have a small stack of notes due for missing charts.
As I was checking out the garden before I left, a woman stopped me in the hallway. She asked if I was the dietitian, I think my overalls gave it away.
She has a background in dance and is now in some kind of role as a therapist. She has seen me do yoga with the girls in the courtyard. She has seen the kids work the soil and pull weeds. She thanked me and told me how important physical movement is to emotional balance.
Earlier I had done a yoga/exercise class with the older boys after the younger girls. I have no idea how I managed that. The guys complained, but kept trying. The girls were drama queens.
But it is my job to do it anyway. Amazing that anyone noticed.
