July update

It's been a long time since I posted here... since April. My excuses are:
1) I started a blog about living with LMS.
2) I've been focusing on improving my lifestyle (see above link)
3) 2 is working so well that I've got all this energy and have been working in the garden, hiking in the woods (looking for fungi!) and generally being busy and having fun.

So no apologies. No doubt once winter hits and I'm stuck inside you'll hear more; particularly about the Studio; something I've been neglecting from all of the above.

The above picture is from my Night Blooming Cereus which blooms once; occasionally twice a year and only at night. If you've never experienced the sight and scent of this flower then go out and find it. It's worth the wait.  

The Garden is doing really well this year. The no dig technique in the veggie beds is working great. Anywhere the results are a little iffy are places where the wind blew off the mulch during our snowless winter even though I've re-mulched it. But the soil is getting more and more fertile and arable each year. Some of the beds I can plant with my hand as the soil is so fluffy. The soil is just full of worm casings and there are a ton of worms working at it.

We're past lettuce season; it's all bolted now. But the Kale is going well. The tomatoes in the greenhouse are doing really well but the ones outside not so much. There are rumors of tomato blight on the east side of the state near Boston which is bringing fear into the hearts of all who grow or eat tomatoes but were hoping it stays on that end. For those that don't remember or were unaware we had a blight come through the North East USA in 2010 that pretty much killed off the entire tomato crop of the region. I blogged about it back then. Keeping positive thoughts on this. :)

My perennial beds are doing really well and I'm going to try to find the time post pics. Of my fungi hunting walks in the mountain here too. I've been looking for medicinal mushrooms like Chaga, Reishi and such; found both but not enough to harvest. Or with the latter it was on public land so couldn't pick it ethically. But I found it and took pictures; which I'll share soon.

I've hired someone to help me in the garden this year. He's been reclaiming much of the old gardens and yard that started over growing after my diagnosis in 2001. The old rose arbor garden, where I used to sit and teach a lot has been uncovered and we've found 5 of the 8 climbing roses and an apothecary rose, which will be transplanted. I've felt bad for them all these years and it will be good to rescue them.

There is also a garage being built which will have a rather large art studio over it, attached to the house. Hopefully that will be done by Autumn and soon after I can move into the studio space. They just finished pouring the foundation; slab next then framing, etc.

So there are tons of things going on; renewing and rebuilding. I can't promise I'll post an update here soon but I'll try. As I said: things will slow down come Snow Fly.

11.11.11 :)

Here is a picture of my constant companion here in the office: Bee my Cockatiel. I've had her about three years or so now.. making her five. A gift from a dear friend. She's a nut, can be noisy and leaves fluff all over my keyboard but I love her. Bee.. that is, not the dear friend. :) Though I love her too.

I thought you might like to meet her.

I don't know if today should be important because of the date but it's fun. And I'd like to take the time out to thank the Veterans and members of our Armed Forces for all their sacrifices. One might not believe or support in the politics behind things but one can't deny the bravery of those that defend us. My late Father was one of them.

I've been a bit unproductive lately. I'm trying to sort through my feelings about my oncology reports. Seems I have to have at least one more surgery in the next month or so and more then likely radiation. For some reason these things more often then not happen to me during this time of year. Astrological? My late Mother, the Astrologer, would have known.

I've spent the last week indulged in watching mindless TV and reading mind candy books (my vice in life is reading paranormal suspense novels and historical mysteries. I know enough about history where they have to be good ones though. :) )

On the one hand I told myself I wouldn't hide this side of my life here (the Leiomyo Sarcoma side; not my reading habits :) ).

On the other hand I don't like focusing on it either. While I don't believe in being a “Pollyanna”: that is acting like everything is ok despite hanging off a cliff edge... I don't like to dwell on the peril either. Keeping a positive outlook is, in my opinion, one of the many reasons I'm still here. Balancing a positive outlook with a sense of reality actually.

That and Medicinal Mushrooms.

Anyway.... even though I'm still waiting to see the surgeon about one tumor (fortunately a simple extraction) and hear back from the radiation oncologist to tell me if I should have another surgery before the radiation;

I feel it's time to get off the couch, so to speak, and get back into my life.

In other words, to once again, get over myself. It really is damaging to sit around and feel sorry for one's self and dwell on the “what if's”. Better to dust one's self off and get on with what one loves to do.

And for me that's the garden and studio primarily and cooking and hanging with my family and friends. With occasionally reading books and a computer game or two :)

However, I haven't totally ignored the studio or garden.

Now for the updates:

Studio update:

Mostly I worked on framing some of the paper mache prints. I have a friend who is a former frame maker who gave me some good ideas about how to go about this. I got myself some rectangular shadowboxes to experiment with. They are plastic unfortunately but I sanded one and painted it with the iron paint. I didn't rust it though: I thought that would be too much.

I then mounted one of the Ravens on unbleached craft paper, attached that to ¼ inch foam board and put it into the frame.

It doesn't look half bad.

I'm thinking I may have to learn how to build frames. Though where I will find the room (and time?) for such a big project at this time I don't know. And I don't think I need another big project at this point.

Another issue: and your feed back would be appreciated... is the quality of the images of my work. I've been scanning them on my computer and for much of the work it works great. But I noticed many of my paintings, particularly the batch from the Raven a Day Challenge don't do the paintings justice. The colors are wrong for one thing. I'm not sure if you can pick up the textures with a camera even but I'm going to start experimenting. I'll post the results here when I get to them.

The above is the first. My main problem I think is not having the camera reflected in the glass.

I'm thinking next week I should start a small Challenge. I'll spend the weekend deciding what that will be and report back Monday.

Garden update:

The greenhouse still needs watering every other day or so. Things are coming along well. The greens probably won't be mature enough until later this Winter. As always I was a bit late seeding. I'm thinking of seeing if I can grow some lettuce mix in the growing shelves under lights in the kitchen before that.

I'm still dealing with the straw/grass seeds in the mulch.

I'm hoping the weather will cooperate and I can get the garden beds tucked in for the Winter this weekend.

Oh... and I changed the format a bit in the blog. Let me know if it doesn't work on your computer. I have a large monitor so I can't really tell. Blogger is coming up with some interesting new formats for their blogs that I will be experimenting with soon but I'm waiting to be able to put in gadgets. (all those little windows on the side bars). A feature they say is soon to be.

See you next week.

My Maitake Mushroom Kit came!

I bought my Maitake  mushroom kit from Fungi Perfecti  one of the best producers and suppliers of mushroom growing supplies, kits and extracts. Paul Staments is, in my opinion, one of the premier experts on anything Fungi related.

And it's here!

I'm very excited. I've wanted to grow my own mushrooms for years. I was never much of a fan for eating them to be honest. I was used to the usual canned mushrooms you find hiding in your food with the consistency of slime and a taste worse then dirt.

When I was first diagnosed with (non Uterine)  Leiomyosarcoma (LMS) 9 years ago, I knew one of the first things for my treatment was Medicinal Mushrooms. Some research turned up that Maitake was one of the most important for sarcoma with claims that studies have shown it actually shrinks tumors. So I made sure the formula I took had Maitake in them.

Friends of mine up in Vermont are Mushroom Hunters and when they heard of my issues they began to send me wild mushrooms they found for me to incorporate into my diet, along with the extract I was taking daily. I was a little unsure, due to my above mentioned culinary experiences with mushrooms, but I was willing to give it a try.

This fits in well with my belief that, while herbal and dietary supplements are an important part of our health care plans; but what we eat on a daily basis is the first step to optimal health.

One of the first mushrooms they sent me was Maitake. I was shocked how good it tasted and have been eating them whenever they can send me or, on very very rare occasions, the coop here has them fresh. And on occasion have bought them dried. I've since tried and now enjoy the more common and familiar Shiitake and Chanterelles.


Maitake is the Japanese name for this mushroom. Which means Jumping for Joy or similar in Japanese I'm told. Some say you jump for joy when you find them in the woods because you are so happy to find them; others say it's after you eat them that you do the jumping. Either way one is very happy one gets to have them.

It's Latin name is Grifola frondosa in the West it's common name is  Hen of the Woods.

Maitake, besides properties purported for cancer treatment are also purported to be anti-bacterial (I used this in my treatment for Lyme Disease), anti-candida,  anti-tumor, anti-viral... the list goes on and I'd suggest you go to Fungi Perfecti's chart to see the rest as well as many many other mushroom species properties listed.

Usually when the term "Magical Mushroom" is used it's referring to psychotropic mushrooms like Psilocybin; a subject I will not get into but in my opinion, all mushrooms are magical; They are one of our very most important natural allies in our quests for healthcare. And one of the most ignored in the United States.

I feel everyone should, at least, incorporate them into one's diet but if one can't they should be taken as extract or capsules. But I feel if I can learn to not just like them but love them; anyone can.

Above is a picture of the kit. It's not much to look at and not pretty, I'll admit. :)

 One simply takes it out of the box, puts it on a plate or pie pan in indirect light and wait three weeks. At that time you cut away the plastic around the top of growing material and mist it up to three times a day. I've put mine near my kitchen sink so I won't forget about it as easily.

After about three weeks you can start to see gray fungi forming.  I'll post pictures and updates as it grows; and once I get some mushrooms big enough to eat I'll post my experiences cooking and recipes.

I'm hoping that I'll have enough to dry them for future use and I'll report back on that too.

Did I say I'm excited? :)

(For educational purposes only. No parts of documents on this site are to be taken as diagnosis or prescription for any illness. See your Medical Care professional for any personal health concerns.)