Well, the financial situation being what it is, I can’t go see my TCM practitioner anymore. No more herbs, no more needles. It’s so hard to know if it was helping or not, because my symptoms are so cyclic. I’m going to keep the diet recommendations, at least for a while, to see if I notice any change with just the herbs gone. Then maybe I’ll try going back to my old diet (true vegan.)
Right now, I’m sort of back to baseline; knees hurt but mostly everything else is relatively pain free, itch died to an occasional flare, abdominal pain just barely starting its upswing, tired but not exhausted, brain fog minimal. This is the optimal time in my month; the one week that I feel fairly normal, functional.
I’ve been working on my plants; discovered an infestation of caterpillars that ate all my arugula and watercress and is now attacking my kale. At least now I know what’s happening. So every morning now I’m out picking caterpillars off the undersides of my cauliflower and kale. And combing the internet for organic solutions to pests. I find it’s a case of too much information; every website has a different recipe. I may have to rely on good old fashioned hand removal.
My cukes have a ton of flowers; and the squash does as well. I really hope to get some squash; it’s one of my favorite veggies. The heat this week has been hard on all my plants; a lot of these fall veggies aren’t used to triple digit heat. That is the advantage of having them in pots though; I can move them into the shade when I need to. One of my tomato plants doesn’t look like it’s going to make it; the other seems ok. I’m not sure what happened; it’s not the caterpillars; the leaves just wilted and died. I can’t ever tell if it’s too much water or not enough. It was right beside the other tomato plant, so they got the same; not sure why one is ok and the other isn’t. If anyone out there has any advice, I’d love to hear it…
I washed some alpaca fleece, which surprisingly did not dry in the heat yesterday. It feels soft and lovely though; I can’t wait to spin it. I’m a little concerned about how I’m going to prepare it though. I have combs, which I’ve never learned how to use, but I’m not sure they’re suitable for alpaca. I got this fleece directly from the shepherdess, who treats the animals like her babies. It’s so cool to know the name of the animal that gave the fleece. She gave me three bags, one of which I am dying to get my hands on, but I wanted to practice with the white first, since I’m a bit rusty. Lucien has the most amazing fleece, fawn-reddish color, and the loft is just amazing. Right now, he’s tucked away til I get my mojo back.
I’m still job hunting. It’s very discouraging. Most of the time I don’t even get the consideration of a rejection, I’m simply ignored. I do have an interview tomorrow, so cross your fingers.
What’s wonderful is that after an initial meltdown over finances, I’m finding that trial is bringing us together as a family. We’re focusing on what we can do, how we can help each other, appreciate each other, and I have taken a few more steps learning to trust. Personal growth, and all that jazz. It’s still scary to be unemployed in this economy, but I love my family so much, and it’s so good to know how strong we can be.
Time to go check Craig’s List for jobs again; and plan dinner, which is going to be Greek Lemon potatoes, brussels sprouts, and tofu, I think. Gonna get creative… uh oh!
Madhyatmika 