warrior – Walk a Myelin* My Shoes

chronic illness, garden, gratitude, Health, life, mental health, MS

Garden Tour – May 2021

June 4, 2021June 4, 2021 Amanda, walkamyelinmyshoes

Well, hello there! It’s been… a while, to say the least. The blogging and writing has been overtaken by the garden. It keeps me busy and (mostly) out of trouble but doesn’t leave a lot of time for other pursuits like writing. But that’s a positive, as it keeps me moving – “Motion is Lotion”, as one of my favourite MSers loves to say.

It has certainly been a peaceful and hopeful place to spend time during the pandemic, and I am grateful for that every single day. The pictures really don’t do it justice, and things are just starting to come together after years of redesigning and refiguring, but I hope you can experience even a fraction of the joy that I find here every day.

Much more interesting than the sloped lawn that was here when we moved in.
Twelve years later and the beds have finally stopped moving. 😀

Our driftwood ‘tree’ is a favourite climbing post for the cat but is sadly getting a bit wobbly as it slowly decays. Smudge could get quite the surprise one day soon!

view from the bottom of the garden where we mostly sit

The Working Garden – The Vegetables

As you see, I like to mix it up and stuff many different vegetables into a container or raised bed. I’m not sure it’s the most efficient or productive method but I like the variation. Not only does working in the garden keep me physically and mentally healthy, growing our own food has been a huge factor in getting my symptoms under control.

The Orchard – apples, lemon, kiwi, onions, radishes, kale and kohlrabi

cucumbers, beans, dill, celery, cherry tomatoes, peppers and potatoes

Gardening is a lot of work, and can become overwhelming if it gets away from you. I’m very lucky that my husband and I share the passion and the work. Adding a chronic illness to the mix can make it seem impossible on some days, with crushing fatigue, dizziness, pain and brain fog making the simplest tasks insurmountable. Those are the days to rest and enjoy, meditate and reflect.

Just like housework, the weeds will always be there and there is always more to do than time to do it. But that’s a gift. And, like everything in life, it’s all about perspective and what you choose to focus on. On my good days, I move slowly, take lots of breaks and hydrate constantly. On my bad days, I focus on what’s blooming, what’s growing well, and the overall beauty of the garden. There is always something to appreciate.

Wishing you peace, love, hope and joy, today and every day.

Amanda

P.S. It’s always interesting to see the changes from year to year. So, here’s the May Tour from 2020. Also the Vegetable Tour.

garden, life

July Garden Tour – on two feet ! 💃💃💃

August 4, 2020 Amanda, walkamyelinmyshoes

I can walk! After doing the June tour on crutches, I finally got an X-ray and found out that what I thought was a sprained ankle was actually a spiral fracture of my fibula. So, I’m madly rehabbing my ankle constantly and being very careful but I’m thrilled to be mobile again. I have even more appreciation and compassion for people with permanent mobility difficulties. I tried not to whine, really.

Vegetables and irrigation

Needless to say, the garden isn’t quite where I envisioned it would be pre-wipeout. Although I give my husband, who is more of a landscaper than a gardener, full credit for managing single-handedly as well as he did. Hand watering the vegetable containers alone could take an hour or more to do properly, so in the last few days I finally built a drip irrigation system. Hallelujah!

It’s not pretty (yet, but the tweaking is half the fun) but it only takes four minutes per zone to get everything watered through. It’s mind-boggling to me, I wouldn’t believe it if I wasn’t seeing it but the plants are showing the difference just from two days watering, and plants don’t lie. Why did I wait so long???

Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, beans, carrots, leeks, lettuce, dill, etc.

Cucumbers and tomatoes. I was amazed at how quickly these tomatoes ripened after I removed the leaves beneath them, and others, in order to direct all the ‘power’ to the fruit.

Onions were not bad, but I think I can do better next year. Leeks still to come though!

The Garlic Experiment

I grew garlic for the first time last year, not altogether successfully. I didn’t know that the ‘flowers’ that garlic throws up are called ‘scapes’, and beyond being my new favourite raw vegetable to snip over my salad, now I know that you need to clip them so the growing power goes into the bulb, not the flower. One of those duh-in-retrospect moments.

This year has been much more successful, due mostly to better planting, fertilizing and watering – and snipping the scapes. There is just no comparison with grocery store garlic when you slice into it. So satisfying!

But check this out, last fall I planted some of my garlic in the ground (left) and the rest of it in half gallon containers (right). I transplanted the container garlic into the ground in the early spring, and the difference was unreal. It was all absolutely huge, whereas the in-ground garlic developed into several smaller heads. I’ll also wait longer to harvest it next year because I just pulled out this monster (bottom right) the other day! I intend to use the bigger heads as my seed garlic in the fall.

And now for the flowers…

The sunflowers are lovely but I’m rethinking my decision to try to use them as trellises. While kind of amusing to go bushwhacking hunting for peas, beans and cucumbers, it’s not especially efficient – or user-friendly. So the vegetables will stay in the containers close to the house in future, and the back garden will be for perennials, annuals and herbs.

Dahlias on Ilam Road, named for our house in NZ where we first fell in love with them.

Gladiolus, here there and everywhere. They always make me think of my oldest BFF, who has given them to me on many special occasions.

I would have enjoyed eating this artichoke, but the flower isn’t a bad consolation prize.

Wild kingdom – not ‘the spider on the fly’ but the ‘fruit fly on the crazy translucent spider on the honey bee on the cosmos’.

I grew these cosmos from seed. Check out the mutant on the left – it’s taller than me! Easy for a person, tougher for a flower!

The calla lilies have finally found a home.

This is an orange calla lily that hasn’t flowered yet but I love the sunshine and the petunias surrounding it.

Alright, we’re off to our favourite spot on the west coast for my 50th 😱 birthday holiday. Be kind, stay calm and stay safe.

❤️ Amanda

garden, life

May Vegetable Tour

May 31, 2020May 31, 2020 Amanda, walkamyelinmyshoes

I can’t believe it’s the last day of May! I wanted to complete my May Garden Tour with a record of how the vegetable beds closer to the house are looking. It’s a crazy windy day – again, ugh – so I snapped them quickly, but such is life.

Unfortunately, the damn deer got in again last night. We can mostly thank our nature-hating, pavement and power tool-loving neighbour for basically killing the hedge on his side. Okay, vent over. Check out the temporary fence – it’s like living in a junk yard! 😂

On the back deck we have potatoes, peas, lettuce, spinach, arugula, leeks, peppers, tomatoes, strawberries and mint. My potatoes have never been this tall before. I’m hoping for a better yield this year, so fingers crossed.

In the raised beds we have potatoes, garlic, radishes, beets, lettuce, peas, carrots, kohlrabi, leeks, peppers, beans and cucumber.

We bought these 20 gallon containers for cheap this year. They’re amazing for tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers and big enough to stuff in some basil, dill, parsley, cilantro, spinach and lettuce.

Tomatoes are so satisfying to grow. I planted these from seed and was horrified when I broke the first one when transplanting. But I pinched off the bottom leaves and stuck the stem deep into the soil and voilà! I also stuck the root ball into the garden and it’s started sprouting new growth. Life will out. 🥰

Alright, I hope this finds you well. Any gardening tips always appreciated!

Be kind, be calm and stay safe!

❤️ Amanda

chronic illness, Health, life, mental health, MS

May Garden Tour

May 26, 2020May 27, 2020 Amanda, walkamyelinmyshoes

Aloha! Since my backyard urban farm in-development has taken up all my focus and energy and I haven’t been writing at all, I thought I’d share photos of how I’ve been staying busy.

Honestly, it has become a full-time job. There are days when the MonSter awakes and I drag myself out of bed hardly able to face the thought of all the tasks calling for attention. But I make myself get out there every day at least for 20 minutes. Usually that ends up with me outside all day.

Besides the obvious advantages of all that vitamin D and fresh air, I know that digging in the dirt is helping rebuild my immune system and my gut microbiota. So even on the toughest days, I rest a lot but I make myself do the lighter tasks. The trick is to not focus on everything that needs to be done but to put the blinders and just do one, small, task.

Anyway, enough of that. Have a wander through our garden.

Food garden, Lavender , buddleias, wallflower, chives, irises, onions, beets, — 10 years ago this was a grassy hill.

Chives, Snapdragons , lilies , succulents , irises,lavender , lilac, buddleia — All the boulders, dirt and driftwood were hauled in and set by hand (and occasionally a rickety dolly with flat tires) by my very determined and creative husband. Those are the boots he wore out during the first few years.

Lilac, iris, lupin, cosmos, daisies, Corsican mint — We obviously don’t play much bocce ball. 😏

Angelica, alpine blue, garden steps — One of my favourite statues because I bought it with a gift certificate from one of my grade one classes.

Rockcress, alyssum, lavatera, wallflower, buddleia, lavender ,garlic, kale, lithadora, ornamental oregano , snapdragons, iris, strawberries, peonies — The oldest part of the garden. We found the sign buried when we moved in. The alyssum(bottom) reseeded itself from last year.

Petunias, onions, rose, garlic — Pallet deck at the top of the garden.
Hopefully one day a greenhouse.

Lemon, blueberry , kiwi, artichoke, cucumbers, beans, onions, garlic, carrots, dill, nasturtium , leeks, petunias — Top garden – the Mediterranean garden
Lemon tree, artichoke, kiwi vine, blueberries and apple trees in the distance.
Oh, and that pepper in the tub is called a “ring of fire”. 🤣🤣🤣

Artichoke bud, food garden — Here comes an artichoke!

Daphne, Angelica, garlic, peonies, buddleia, Rosemary, lupin — Mid-garden

New vegetable bed growing zucchini, cucumbers, carrots, radishes, leeks, kale, dill, kohlrabi and buckwheat. Little bird was a Mother’s Day gift from my girls.

New vegetable bed beside the rhubarb and
the Nelly Moser clematis(far left) and anemones (right) finally flowering!
Instead of being chowed down by the deer. 🤞🏻👩🏻‍🌾🤞🏻

Apple tree bed growing onions, beets, potatoes, kohlrabi, radishes and carrots.

Barbie skinny dipping with a 20 year old bath toy.
Hmmm…that sounds strange… 😳

View from the bottom, the newest part just finished this year. This is where we mostly sit because it’s cool and shady beside the cedar hedge.

I know not everyone is fortunate enough to have a yard to garden. But even a small pot on a windowsill can grow parsley, basil and cilantro. Food security is a serious issue that has finally been brought to the forefront of people’s minds because of the Covid-19 situation. Start small and grow your own!

Alright, thanks for joining me. I didn’t even get to the vegetable beds by the house, but I’ll leave that for another post.

Take care, stay calm and stay safe. And garden!

❤️ Amanda

life, mental health

Learning to Be

April 24, 2020April 24, 2020 Amanda, walkamyelinmyshoes

The world has stopped. The unthinkable has happened and we’re in crisis mode, trying to get our heads around this ‘new normal’.

I’ve been here before.

No, not exactly like this, obviously. But almost five years ago, my world stopped when I finally admitted I couldn’t teach anymore. I’ve been adapting to my new normal ever since. It’s been a bumpy ride, but there have been many surprising blessings as well.

Learning to be. This is a big one. We are so inundated with messages telling us we need to be doing something all the time. There’s a culture of busy-ness, where the more you’re doing is like a badge of honour. When you have a chronic illness, that’s not really an option because the fatigue, among other things, is so killer that You. Just. Can’t.

So you spend a lot of time at home, sitting around, isolated, without a whole lot of options for entertainment. Sound familiar? I’m sure it’s a new experience for most healthy people, and it can be uncomfortable just sitting in your own skin sometimes. Or maybe that’s just the MS. 🤔

But just being, instead of always doing can be a wonderful opportunity to get real with yourself and figure out what’s really important. We’ve been conditioned to believe we need to be working, be productive, be entertained, be adventurous, be travelling , be consuming, be socializing.

We’ve forgotten that sometimes it’s important to just BE.

When you stop doing and sit quietly with yourself, your mind has space to process. This is why meditation has become so popular. But you don’t even have to be that organized about it. I’m not knocking meditation in any way, I’m just suggesting that you pay attention to whether you take any time during your day to stop doing and just BE.

Staring at nature is my go-to for times when I need to stop and be for awhile, even if it’s just out the window, or the nature channel on TV. I guess that’s technically doing something but the mental health benefits outweigh any slicing of that proverbial hair.

We’ve been running on the societal treadmill for so long that doing nothing, just BEING is a difficult thing for many people right now. I get it. Like with anything though, a shift in perspective can change this strange situation we’re finding ourselves in, into an opportunity to examine our values and decide if we really want to go back to the “old normal”.

As much as I miss teaching, I am grateful every single day for my many blessings. Learning to be comfortable with just being and not doing all the time has helped me enormously in accepting my new normal. I hope it helps you too.

Just be.

Hummingbird in flight feeding — Look what you can see when you stop doing for a few minutes. Just be.
Photo credit: Amanda L. Callin

❤️ Amanda

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Vegetables and irrigation

The Garlic Experiment

And now for the flowers…

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